


Ignorance is Bliss

by Spiritofeowyn



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Akytior, Book 7: The Stone Rose, Book 9: The Resurrection Casket, Episode: s06e04 The Doctor's Wife, F/M, Forests of Cheem, Impossible Astronaut, Karn - Freeform, Mysteriousloverdoneright, Neverpeople, Planet Lobos, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rassilon's Dirty Socks, Rorycandobetter, Rose Everything!, Sisterhood of Karn, The Sexy Specs of the Other., TimeLadyRose, Tyler Rose Garden is a real thing everyone should fic about., Tyler Texas, Untempered Schism (Doctor Who), Zero Room ships it., disassociating, healthyrelationships, no OCs.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 59,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26831950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiritofeowyn/pseuds/Spiritofeowyn
Summary: The Doctor runs into a historical figure from ancient Gallifrey who has lost everything. Can he convince her that there is always a reason to keep living?If not, she will never reveal the truth about the name she was given by her parents centuries ago lest the Doctor feel the burden of keeping the once Rose around. Or worse feel guilty at her death.Yes, it really is as shippy as the tag suggests.
Relationships: 11th Doctor/Rose, Amy/Rory, Eleventh Doctor/Rose Tyler, Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, The Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 114
Kudos: 213





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First off I wrote all of this on my phone so typos and capitalization problems abound. No beta for grammar. 
> 
> This story has been bugging me for years to be written. It will cover early Gallifrey. It will cover Rose and the Metacrisis lives together and the time war and marriage bonds.
> 
> It will become clear to you what’s going on but the Doctor is dense.

**Chapter One**

Rory and the Doctor stared at dead bodies in fascination. The skin had been taken off of both. One displayed human musculature white another was just the nervous system while another was fat and organs and a cut open brain.

Across the room aliens and humans with cat ears dissected.

Las Vegas had had such an exhibit and the nurse in Rory had always wanted to go. Instead they’d ended up on New Earth in New Las Vegas because regular Las Vegas wasn’t interesting enough for the Doctor.

Predictably Amy hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near the dissections and had ended up shopping in one of the malls across the city.

The walls around them turned a blinking red and became news feeds.

“The Bliss Virus kills New Earth parliament. Worldwide Quarantine will begin in five minutes.”

The Doctor turned as pale as the cadavers.

He grabbed Rorys hand and pulled him back towards the TARDIS.

“I’ve made a grave mistake and we have to get out of here—now.”

“What?” Rory asked. “ Why?”

“The Bliss virus has gone airborne and it will kill everyone on the surface of this planet earth in seven minutes.”

The TARDIS was in sight when Rory asked, “What about Amy?”

“Four minutes.” The walls announced. People were scurrying around them to get home as if it would help. Nine of them would get to their ships and out of orbit in time to flee. The only people to survive would be those on the motorway because of The Face of Boe.

“Call her— see if you can get a location.” The Doctor snapped his fingers as they approached the Tardis.

Rory stopped outside the tardis to make the call.

“Amy?” The phone kept ringing.

“Two minutes.” The wall said.

The Doctor dragged Rory inside the TARDIS.

“No! We have to go back out there! Amy!” Rory yelled as the Doctor took his phone. 

“Going around her last known ping from her phone.” The Doctor said.

Rory rushed to the door as soon as they landed, but the doors wouldn’t budge.

A full head mask rebreather rolled by his feet. 

“Gonna need that— Bliss kills within minutes!” The Doctor called. “Bliss was a drug that made you feel happy but it combined with a neurological virus-“

It sounded like a horrific disease, but He had to save his wife.

Outside a crowd was having Seizures as purple foam spilled from their mouths.

Men, women children. The screams were horrific, but no Amy. 

He ran around to the other side. No Amy. Just the dead.

The Doctor also in his astronaut mask waved his sonic around. “I can’t find her bio data anywhere.”

“ Well, she has to be somewhere! I’m not leaving her!”

“I’m telling you she’s gone! No one on this side of the planet is even alive anymore!” The Doctor cried.” I’m sorry!”

“ She’s dead became yet again you landed us into a disaster and you’re sorry?!” Rory raged against him. 

Dwdwdwdw

15 minutes earlier..

Amy was looking at alien footwear at an outdoor bazaar. She swore her legs were swelling lately. 

It was more window shopping to not think about what the boys were doing.

“Thank you! Comfy boots that look like stilettos are a godsend at galas.” A women near her said to the shipowner. “Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to run at a party and I get dirty looks when in my sneaks.” 

The woman had a charming smile, and had one of those faces you just wanted to trust. Half a foot shorter than herself. Dark brown hair that glowed golden in the sun. Rich clothing and jewelry. She looked to be in her early forties but without the wrinkles. She wore high top sneakers in plum. 

Golden bracelets dangled from her wrists with buttons and a screen on them.  
Futuristic phone?

The women frowned at her. “ Hello?”

“Oh not staring. Just you know. Browsing while I wait for my boys.”

“Kids?” The woman asked.

“No. Husband, and best friend went to see dead bodies on display. No thanks!”

“Ah.” She said. “Not planning on donating your likeness then?”

“My what?”

“Your head, you know as a user interface.”

Amy was aghast. “, Keech! that’s not even a thing. You’re having me on.”

The woman grinned. “Thought so. You’re out of time. How did you end up here?”

Before Amy could reply a news report blasted in a holographic screen above their heads. 

“Bliss virus.“ She mumbled. Then looked at Amy. “If you stay you’ll die. Come with me!”

Amy followed reluctantly. She didn’t want to end up stuck here.

“Is there a shelter around here or something?” Amy asked. She had to weave around frantic shoppers.

“Nope, bathroom.”

They were headed towards a tall dark blue portapotty. It may be the future but she knew a loo when she saw one. It had a painted yellow wolf on the door and ’stygge ulven Port en potten’ written on top.

“Not really the time to take a piss!”

Amy’s phone rang but she couldn’t hear it over the screaming.

The woman pressed her hand against the loo door which glowed for a second then opened. “I’ll explain later!”

Amy turned around, it wasn’t the craziest thing she’d done— that was being puked up by a star whale and it’s not like she had an abundance of choices, so she followed her into the loo and shut the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finally meet up. Hilarity insues and you the reader get more answers but the Doctor doesn’t get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m on a roll right now. Two chapters in 24 hours?

Chapter 2

Rory stood at his in-laws door. They had to tell them. The Doctor had wanted to stay in the Tardis but he hadn’t let him. It was the Doctors fault he should have to break the news.

He was barely holding it together. He refused to cry in front of anyone. Being mad at the Doctor helped. 

“Oh, Rory! We thought you might be by soon.” His mother in law said, ushering him inside.

“Augustus! Rorys here with their friend.” Tabetha called.

“ Ah, yes, on it!” He called back, taking out his phone.

They got shoved into the living room.

“ Now, I ve heard you lost our Amy-“

“You have?” Rory was one part confused and horrified.

“Yes, and you Mr. should research where you’re going first!” Tabetha lectured. “What made you drag our poor Amy to that horror show?”

The Doctor turned red.

“Don’t think I’ll be making you tea after that nonsense!” Tabetha Pond lectured.

“No, no I’ll never, I’m so sorry.” The Doctor cried.

They heard the front door open.

“You should be.” Amy cried fixing them both a glare as she set her shopping bags down. 

“Amy!” Rory rushed to hug her while the Doctor waved his sonic.

“When’s the last time you saw us?” The Doctor asked. They must have arrived too early. This must be an earlier Amy.

“The wonderful world of dead bodies-“

The Doctor was baffled.

“Luckily I caught a ride from my new best friend off planet.”

Amy gestured to the woman next to her.

“Hello!” She greeted with a little wave of her hand. “You can call me Aki.”

“A key?” Rory asked.

The Doctors nonexistent eyebrows rose.  
“That’s a nice shimmer you’ve got there.” 

“It has its uses.” Aki agreed.

He waved his sonic to deactivate the shimmer but it didn’t work. He tapped it and tried again. Why didn’t it work?

“Something wrong with your equipment?” Aki teased.

He glanced to the married couple who had moved to the kissing portion of their greeting.

“No. If anything something is wrong with yours.”

“Psst.” Aki stage whispered. “This is the part where you introduce yourself, and say thanks for not letting your friend die a horrible death.”

“I’m the Doctor.” He said raising himself to his full height. “ And thanks for that, which brings us to how you managed to bring my friend across time and space to her home.”

“How-I’ve got the tech. Why-Because I could. She seems happy enough about it.”

Aki seemed to be analyzing his face for something.

“What?”

“Were you born without eyebrows or did you lose them in an experiment?” Aki asked with genuine curiousity.

“Oi! They came this way.” He covered them with a hand.

“ But the professor look suits you. Makes you look older which I assume you were going for.” The Doctor preened. “No one would take you seriously otherwise.”

The Doctor wasn’t sure if she was complimenting him or not. He hoped he wasn’t gaping like a fish.

“Not an insult just an observation. No one takes me seriously when they should without the shimmer. Look too young for my experience level.” Aki said.

The Doctor frowned. Not sure what to make of this woman. Well she looked like a woman. With the shimmer she could be a slitheen for all he knew.

“Well it was nice to- to meet you. Best be going.” Her words didn’t match her body language at all.

“Oh no you don’t! You should come with us as a thank you for saving my life, right?” Apparently Amy had come up for air and was using her Amy- ness on her husband.

“ Right! Yes! Thank you so much.” Rory enthused shaking Aki’s hand vigorously with shining eyes.

“Doctor?” Amy threatened. 

She needn’t have bothered. Aki was a mystery he wanted to know more about. Maybe interrogate later. If she wasn’t a time agent then where did her time travel abilities come from?

“ Of course! We insist. My treat.” He led her with his arm around her back.

Outside they passed a port a potty parked on the lawn.

“Probably a bad idea for me to come with you.” Aki bit her lip and looked accusingly at Amy but she kept up with the Doctor.

The Doctor opened the TARDIS doors.

Aki smiled widely as she entered and the overhead lights brightened. However she didn’t state the obvious.

“Maybe you didn’t notice but it’s bigger in here.” The Doctor said as if to a child.

She rolled her eyes. “Not necessarily. It’s just dimensionally transcendent. One dimension out there another in here with the door threshold being the portal between.”

He knew his jaw was on the floor.

“Not hard to figure out.” She put her hands in her pockets and rocked on her heels. “ I assume this is your ship?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you going to start it up? I was promised a trip.” She grinned.

Amy remained down by the door with her friend. Aki waited until his back was turned to whisper, “I told you this was a bad idea.”

“He always talks to us like we’re stupid that was brilliant!” Amy giggled with a bounce.

“Still.”

“He thinks he’s the last of his kind but you’ve got a-“

Aki covered Amy’s mouth.

“Timelords have excellent hearing.” She hissed.

“I couldn’t just let you go like that. If you’re anywhere near as lonely as he is.”

“This is such a bad idea.” Aki groaned. “I could end up destroying an essential time loop just by -“

“Where do you want to go? Any preference? Your home world perhaps?” The Doctor called.

Aki rolled her eyes. Like she’s fall for that obvious a bid for information. She was dying to give herself away with a location of significance to them. No. Timelines. She bit her lip.

“Couldn’t you just set it to a random location? See where we end up?” She offered as she ascended the stairs. And hope they didn’t run into the devil or the end of the universe. Well or anyplace that could recognize her as their planetary savior or something.

She’d frustrated the Doctor again. He was cute when he was off balance. Not that it mattered anymore.

Random meant the TARDIS got to choose where they went. It’d either be something romantic or a tear in the fabric of reality that needed two time sensitives to manage. Probably Daleks.

She felt them move out of the time vortex.

“We’re kinda done with danger today. Off to the bunk beds.” Rory insisted.

As they left something struck her. “Wait. You travel with a married couple? Isn’t that a bit.” She leaned against the console and drew his eye. “domestic?”

The Doctor winced. “It started out as just Amy and then well Rory came along.” The Doctor wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to mention the whole Amy trying to seduce him the night before her wedding. He didn’t come off well in it, and a person could draw unsavory conclusions about Amy and her commitment to Rory. Not really his story to tell he supposed. “Nothing wrong with domestic if it’s the right people.”

“If you say so.”She frowned. “Wait. The newly weds have a bunk bed?”

That sounded awful.

“It’s a bed, with a ladder!” The Doctor enthused.

“One bed or two?” She asked.

“Twice the fun!” The Doctor argued.

She stared at him.”You know human married couples typically share beds.” He knew it and she wasn’t going to let him get away with pretending to be ignorant of the fact.

He looked nervous and adjusted his bow tie. Ah, so that was his I’m about to lie tell this go around. Why would he do that. Ooooh. Oh.

“You know that’s not going to stop them from having sex on your tardis. You could just ask your ship to soundproof the walls and like a decent alien not invade their room without first knocking and asking if they’re busy.”

The Doctor turned as red as her namesake. He spluttered.

“Wait, how did you know it’s called the tardis?”

“That’s the part you’re going to focus on? “ She drawled.” Amy called it that. Said her husband was on it hopefully.” She lied. Well Amy’d said it but she obviously hadn’t been thinking that when she called it the tardis. The Best lies had some truth to them.

The Doctor nodded.”Right.” He sounded disappointed.

“We going outside yet?” She twisted side to side against the rails with a teasing smile.

The Doctor followed.


	3. Chapter 3

Outside the Tardis was a world of dark blue sunlight. The other stars in the sky were white and a distant purple. Blue steam rose from the rocks and the trees were a brilliant green. Much of the plant and animal life ate starlight and glowed with the cooler but brighter suns set.

The native Quadal were technically blind. They read energy signatures and heat. The other sentient species on the planet were shapeshifters so relying on what they could see with eyes had become a disadvantage.

They naturally changed color to blend into their surroundings. Most creatures were nocturnal because with 3 suns the day was blinding bright and hot.

They looked like colorful giant centipedes with thousands of feelers that peeked out of their scales like fur. They were poisonous but only to prey.

Maybe Aki was one of the shapeshifters and the tardis has brought him here to put her? Honestly though the TARDIS liked his newest guest too much for him to see her as an immediate threat.

This not knowing and classifying a being was annoying.

Aki seemed caught up in the beauty of the place.

“ welcome to Rigel 8. Home of the Quadal-“

Aki interrupted him with a swear the tardis refused to Translate to something more seemly.

She went to bang on the TARDIS door which wouldn’t open.

Another curse, this one was one of his personal favorites that the tardis usually translated to poncy git or unmarried parents.

“Not a fan of Rigel 8 then?”

“No it’s a fine planet.” Aki ground out.

“Wanted for crimes unseemly?”

Aki gave a bitter laugh. “No. Just better to not be seen. Which is hard with a species that sees energy instead of reflected light.”

Well that was promising. Maybe the locals could tell him a thing or two.

She mumbled something that sounded like ‘You know what you did!”

“Zeffirell lake is just this way.” The Doctor said.

Aki glared at the tardis. 

“Problem?” He asked.

She stomped over to him. “Tardis wants me to be happy.”

That wasn’t at all what he had expected.

“And that’s bad?” He asked.

“To the web of time, yeah.”

“ Wait. You know she’s sentient?” The Doctor asked. “We’ve met before haven’t we? That’s why you didn’t say it was bigger on the inside this time.” He was proud of himself.

“Your ego can be exhausting!” She complained with a kick at the dirt.

He kept himself from saying that she clearly knew him. No need to confirm.

The lake was like quicksilver only not toxic. It was said that you could see and communicate with the dead on its mirrored surface via lip reading.

It wasn’t true. The aquatic shapeshifters liked to have fun at offworlders expense.

Drinking the water could enhance telepathic abilities though or be a seditive in non telepaths.

“Care for a drink?” He asked.

She turned away from him with a wince.

“It tastes gross, so no.” She shivered despite the heat and sounded pained and threw something into the water violently.

Another frustrating non answer. It was sometimes used as a marital aid among bonded strong telepaths. Was that it? Was she bonded? Or was bonded?

“I wasn’t suggesting we use it together because obviously. I mean. We aren’t.” Constantly wrong footed with this one. Here alone he could feel a pull towards her like a headache of voices inside him screaming for recognition.

She raised an eyebrow. 

“ I’m not trying to frustrate you.” She said.

“ You’re not very forthcoming-“

“Neither are you Doctor. That’s a title not a name.” She sighed. “Aki is a nickname I was given. Happy?”

“The Doctor nodded. A bit bored.

“This place is...” Aki began,”dull. Thought for sure there would be an invasion or freak weather.”

He agreed. Besides the scurrying of creatures it was too quiet and let his brain wander. That was never good. Stand still long enough and you think about the past and mistakes.

Firefly like lights moved swiftly down trees to reveal bright orange Quadal the size of giant Eels. Their cities were in the trees and underneath them.

“You honor us with your presence great one! Your legend has spread wide in this region of space.” The tallest reared high then bowed low.

The Doctor smiled. at his fans. “Yes. I imagine it has.” He waved.

She groaned.

The alien moved it’s head from side to side. “Is this your companion great Goddess-“

“Yes. He isn’t to be harmed.” She ordered.

“Wait, wait. They’ve heard of you but not me? The oncoming storm the-“

“I brokered a peace deal between the Quadals and the Braxals that’s lasted over a thousand years.” She shrugged. 

He gaped at her. She wasn’t some random time agent or wanderer who happened by. It seemed that saving lives and fixing planets was her day job.

“Then why didn’t you want to be here so badly?” 

“I don’t like the hero worship. It makes me uncomfortable. People start relying on you to fix their problems all the time, they stop working to fix things their way and might as well become automotans. There is beauty in individuality and adaptation. Without thinking outside of expectation a society stagnates.” She frowned. “ I’ve seen planets and empires like that and it’s not pretty. Plus once they figure out you’re not all knowing and perfect they hate you.”

When she looked back up at him he noticed how very old her eyes were.

“How old are you?” He mused.

“Rude. But old enough to know for myself that a longer life isn’t always a better one. I’m so tired of it all.”

It was a bit like looking into a mirror.

“Anyways. The thing to remember is that the Quadals value honesty above everything else, and the telepathic Braxals value making their kind laugh and be happy. When one is happy, it spreads to the others. Same with negitive emotions too.” Aki lectured. “ There first peace talks ended in War because the Braxals made a joke that wasn’t fully true to bond with the Quadals who were offended they ‘lied’.”

The Doctor laughed. “They started a war over one bad joke?”

“It wasn’t even a bad joke. I’ll tell it to you once we’re back on the ship.” Aki bumped into his shoulder.

The Aliens watched them politely. 

“ Doctor friend, how to do you know the goddess?”

“Oh, I don’t not really. Just met.”

The Quadal turned yellow in anger. “That is a lie. “

“Wait, Wait. He doesn’t know it’s a lie! His species makes themselves forget a lot as part of their responsibility.” Aki soothed. “ Like deliberately forgetting you are going to have a surprise party so your friends will be pleased for their efforts. But for serious reasons.”

The lead Quadal twisted its whole body in such a way that it was clear they thought the Doctors species must be fragile idiots.

“That seems unwise.”

“So we have met?”The Doctor cheered. “Why would I block memories of that?” If only he knew which of his blocked memories it was and force it open.

“Timelines obviously.” Aki said. “You won’t appease them until you tell them an absolute truth.”

The Doctor rattled out some mathematical constants.

“Truths about yourself. They can detect any lies.” Aki said.

Well. There was something he didn’t like. He liked to be mysterious. Somethings were regeneration specific anyways. Ah hah! “I hate pears.”

The Quadal nodded and offered hospitality.

“No thanks. Peace and truth forever.”

Quadal bowed its head and left after repeating the phrase.

“I imagine the local hospitality is inedible.” The Doctor said taking her hand and leading her back towards the tardis.

“Slime and heated metal to lay on.” Aki replied. “I really should save more places with better snacks.”

“Hmm.” The Doctor smiled.

“Is there a planet of chocolate mouse artisans in need of saving?” She asked with a grin.

“Probably somewhere.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” She broke free of him and stopped in front of him. “Run!”

He chased after her like they’d known each other forever and not just a few hours. His body knew what to do even if his head was unsure.

Of course he tripped along the way so she beat him to the closed tardis door.

She had the most beautifully honest smile.

“ I’ve got a compromise for you.” Aki said.

“Which is?”

“I will honestly answer any question of yours that has nothing to do with who I used to be back when you knew me as someone else. It’s been centuries maybe even thousands of years. I’ve changed. I don’t want a relationship based on who you think I am and disappointment that I grew up. Deal?”

He tried to analyze her words and his brain helpfully made a list of everyone he’d ever met. A long one to be sure. It was the best offer he was going to get. “Deal.”

“Question One- are you currently a Dalek?”

She laughed and it was beautiful. When he first met this new woman there were no easy smiles. He felt a sense of triumph at his handiwork.

“No. Are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I’m able to do these every day or near enough.
> 
> Next will be the doctor taking her somewhere nice to make up for being a brat on the other world.
> 
> If you haven’t guessed who Aki is let me know. I’m trying to be obvious without being so obvious the Doctor would have to know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor takes Aki somewhere nice and her identity and much of her past is revealed to the reader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again all done on my phone. No chapter yesterday but I made sure today’s is much longer. I hope you enjoy. If you don’t I’d like to hear your constructive criticism too.

Chapter 4

“I don’t see why you need a room.” 11 complained.

“Dinner and dancing at a royal ball. I can’t just wear a rumpled suit, can I?” Aki argued.

“Wait. Yes. Brilliant idea old friend. Where is your room?” He glanced around in glee. 

Like she was that stupid. 

_Tardis, dear, I know how you feel about this, but not my old room, yeah? I’m not that girl anymore. I refuse to make him feel responsible for me or make him feel bad if I take my leave. We may not match anymore._

The TARDIS laughed in her mind.

A dark blue door appeared with a stylized blending of ‘Akytior and Corin who guard the door of the Inn they made of tile’ around it in old high Gallifreyan all in deep gold.  
The door had a stylized Celtic knot wolf on the key to the door.

She shook her head and opened the door to find an old English cottage living room with light coming from modern skylights. It was a replica of the home they had retired to when despite modern advances her husband and bond mate was too old to travel the stars.

It was the room she had been given each time she’d traveled with the Doctors who couldn’t retain her memory.

She could feel the Doctor peering around her room for clues. Oh, good luck with that. The borders were etched with silver cadonwood leaves. The room was scattered with alien knickknacks.

She cleared her throat a few times before he glanced to her.

“You can’t watch me get dressed.” She said because he had never been good with hints. “We’re not there yet.”

“Right. Right.” He slowly backed away.

She locked the door just in case, and covered her face.

“You and my ship conspired against me didn’t you?” She growled at the ceiling.”Taking me to New Earth when you knew I’d save Amy because she was out of time and I could. Knew she traveled with him!”

The TARDIS mentally shrugged.

“Why? You know he has to marry River so she’ll save his life at the library so they survive long enough to stop the reality bomb. If he finds out it’s me he’ll either screw that up or he’ll feel obligated to keep me around while in love with another! Hell for the both of us. I don’t need to see him with someone else. Can’t my story end without that? He’ll put his life in danger to protect me either way and I don’t need that anymore! I’m not Rose anymore! She died with Corin. This is all just an afterlife.”

The TARDIS had nothing to say to that.

Ugh.

Akytior rushed to put on her ballgown of deep blue with stars. Her hair and makeup done in minutes. She adjusted the shimmer to hide her sneakers.

When she reached him in the console room, she grabbed his hand to pull him towards the door.

She didn’t want to hear him say she was beautiful nor did she want to have him ignore how she looked as either could be painful. He was just a Doctor like timelord and she was just going to get a meal and then head back to her lonely TARDIS where she passed the time by finding people to save to justify her continued existence.

“Straight to it then.” The Doctor said. “Better than insulting my style I suppose?”

“Who does that?” 

The Doctor presented an actual invitation and whispered in the announcers ear about his plus one.

“The Doctor and a key of the TARDIS!” He announced to the crowd. Akytior blinked hard but kept her best benevolent heiress smile on. Either a bad game of telephone occurred or the Doctor was winding her up for more information.

Either way it was better to ignore the bait.

She smoozed it up all the while correcting the Doctors missteps.

He handed her their drinks.

“So, who is your favorite Timelord?” The Doctor joked.

She grinned back. “Oh, probably Romana. So graceful and brilliant. Brax is such a charmer with a lovely collection of art.”

The Doctor stopped striken. “What?”

Oh. He didn’t know about the attempt to save Gallifrey yet.

“Braxiatel is insufferable. I should be your favorite Timelord. Me!” This body whined like a small time tot.

“Oh! You were fishing for a compliment.” She said with a sip. “ I thought you were trying to learn more about me.”

“Some friend you are.” He grumbled. “Am I allowed to ask where you met them?”

“Gallifrey of course. Big fan of the islands in the Poon ocean. Much cooler and greener. Had a retirement cabin out there.”

“But. But you’re not a timelord.”

“Nope.” She set her drink down.

“Other species aren’t allowed on the planet.”

“I may or may not be the reason that law went into place.” She teased.

At that moment another man came up and asked her to dance, leaving the Doctor to gape at her.

She didn’t give much heed to the things her partner said. She knew all the polite answers. She felt a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All these things she had wanted to say to him. To the Doctor and Corin over these long years without. Oh Corin would have gotten a kick out of it. 

She had spent years glued to the Matrix just to talk to him. The break in the bond still so raw. Making it a game to get into the Capitol and out unincumbered. When Rassilon made his eternal lackies to keep the rest of Gallifrey under heel he had made them easy to control with backdoor codes to keep them in line in all his paranoia. Weaknesses that could be exploited.

Yes, confession was good for the soul.

Once the dance was done she headed straight to the artisan chocolate table. A benefit of age was a growing disregard for what others thought of you. One of all the good stuff thank you so much. 

She avoided another dance by keeping her mouth full.

She saw a young fellow get turned down for a dance by a red skinned girl and huddle next to the bacon table. Poor kid. It wasn’t easy standing out. Most of the guests had red skin here in Darscon. She asked him for a dance and his eyes brightened.

“I’m Ral of Dalizar. I’m going to be a scientist someday.”Ral said as if this should impress her. He had dark hair and eyes.

“Good for you. Scientists can do a lot of good.” She smiled and he blushed.

“Are you a kaled too?” Gesturing at her dark brown hair.

She drew in a breath. Kaled she had heard of them tons of times. “You’re far from home.”

“Yes, my family does trade with Agritis. On account of the Thaals burning all our farms and they offer a fair rate.” He rambled.

She nodded.

“Have you ever been to Skaro?” He asked.

“Nope.”

“Oh, well once the war is over you should see the fountain of pure gold.”

“Mm. Maybe someday.”

Ral politely thanked her for the dance and went back to the food table.

Another timeline she couldn’t touch. Another life she couldn’t save. Unlike others she just felt sorry for the common kaleds, stuck in a war of their ancestors.

The Doctor approached her. “Having fun?” 

“Yeah. Don’t know how you do it. Seeing the tragedy in people’s timelines and just walk away. Fixed points and all.”

“Whose?” He asked looking around.

Well she wasn’t going to tell him she met a kaled. Luckily no marriage bond on his side to read her mind.

“Doesn’t matter.“

“I avoid fixed points when I can but every life is full of bad things and good things. The good things don’t always soften the bad but the bad doesn’t make the good unimportant.” The Doctor said with a hand on my shoulder. I sniffed. So not a timetot then.

“When did you get all wise?” Akytior asked.

“Oh, somewhere along the way. I’m old it was bound to happen.” He apologized.

“I’m going to hug you, Is that alright? I know some bodies are-“

He still gave the best hugs. Oh. And the Doctor smell. Memory didn’t do the experience justice. A small part of my mind yelled not to get attached again.

Remember the mess you were when Corin was murdered. The things you did. What you became. You vowed never to let the wolf loose again. To protect the Doctor you’d do anything to avenge him even more. 

They found a quiet balcony to eat and drink at as the suns set.

“What was your favorite food on my world.” He asked as he bit into another seafood delicacy of the farmworld.

“Oh most of it was awful. No creativity at all. Eat to live only. So bland.”

The Doctor grinned fondly.

“I half think you never stayed because the food was so bad. But the southern Mountaineers knew how to eat. Theirs matches ancient Gallifrey the most you know.”

“Oh? And how would you know that?” The Doctor asked.

“Oh, like you, I’ve been around. Made it a point to try and keep Gallifrey safe. You had it easier with Earth.” She said pointing at him with her fork.

“Really?”

He laughed. He was the most relaxed she’d seen his eleventh body be.

“Oh yeah, we made a deal. I’d keep your homeworld safe if you took care of mine.”

“So you’re human then.” He smirked. “ You know I don’t remember making any such agreement.”

“Well born human but you know, stuff happens. Can only think of one human older than me.” Akytior looked at her drink. What was in this stuff? “ And lets be honest your memory has more holes than Swiss cheese.” She teased him with a tongue touched grin.

He frowned at it.

“Magnolia pie, though with frozen cream on top is the best.”

She kept to herself that she had an orchard of the trees on her ship because once She’d found Gallifrey in the parallel universe where Rassilon had died young, Corin had insisted on it. The kids had loved Magnolia everything.

“Oh. I had it once as a kid at Otherstide and it was the highlight of that century.“

Her mind briefly strayed to Otherstide. The ones she’d been to. The ones she’d avoided.

“A century studying at the academy eating vitamin cubes — no wonder it was your favorite.” She challenged.

He shook his head. “So I had very low standards. My point still stands.”

“Aww...Poor Theta didn’t have chocolate. Admit it you came to Earth for the chocolate covered bananas.”

“I admit nothing. A timelord has their dignity to protect.” He pretended to be his brother and twirl a mustache.

They continued to talk about inane things about his world and customs. She could tell he had missed having someone understand. Who he could talk to without telling them the whole back story and explain every custom and joke. It was nice for her too. The easy teasing. Not everyone got her sense of humor. No one else could understand what Gallifrey would be like to an Outsider. She’d had to keep up such a stiff facade nearly the whole time. 

Romana was friends with Leela who was also an outsider human. She hadn’t had to pretend to be native or that her future knowledge came from spies. She had made the trapped years bearable.

Her constant shadow and then lover Braxiatel had been places and had an opinion that wasn’t trademarked Rassilon propaganda. Individuals in the telepathic hive were sadly rare among the timelords and the outsiders only lived so long. 

“So, I know who your favorite is, who was your least favorite Timelord?”

“Rassilon.” She bit out quickly with venom. Her good mood gone.

Akytior quickly changed the subject and they headed back inside where she avoided him for an hour before going back to the tardis.

Once inside she politely bid him goodnight and went to her room.

Some wounds would never heal.

Dwdwdwdwdwdwdw

The Doctor would know a lot about that.  
He watched Aki leave as he leaned against the console, legs crossed. 

She was clever and fun and had definitely been to his homeworld. There were too many small details that you’d never find in a text or legend that she knew and was opinionated on. Did she know it was gone?

“Was this your idea?” He asked the TARDIS. 

She assured him it was and that he could trust this newcomer not to be a trick or a trap.

Ever since “One last day with your beloved which day would you choose?” He hadn’t been able to think of much else. 

He had this whole plan of visiting her in highschool as a tutor for students in need. This body could definitely pull off young Professor. Of course it wouldn’t stop there. He would keep her from Jimmy Stone and then would his ninth self ever meet her? Part of him didn’t care. That was dangerous. Some things were fixed.

So naturally the TARDIS had sent him a distraction. Someone who knew of his homeworld.

It had been fine until she unwittingly reminded him of Her. He’d hoped that a new body and a new interior would give him some distance. Some closure. He thought maybe River might as she didn’t remind him of Rose in the slightest. She was like a man in a skirt. A rival. 

She had known his school knickname. If she’d met his brother and friends of Gallifrey it might have come up. But she had a room already and a nice one. Who has he met who had been to Gallifrey and was so long lived. 

She wasn’t Leela or Sarah Jane. She was too kind and humble to be River. Who was she?

Well might as well let this distract him from doing something foolish. Just because it hurt now that he’d loved Rose didn’t mean it was a bad thing. This pain couldn’t dull the joy she’d given him. He had to remind himself of this or he’d fall to the same dark places his previous body had once all hope of having her by his side was gone. It would dishonor her memory and all the healing she’d done to do that.

He rubbed at his face.

Would his Rose shaped wound ever heal?


	5. Can’t see the wolves for the Forest part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first proper adventure and it’s all original not based on an episode except for canon worlds, aliens and characters. I spent a lot of time researching Who, trees and wolves for this.

Chapter 5

“The 1600s reaked!” Amy cried, pushing her way into the TARDIS. Her era appropriate dress was covered in things no one wanted to name.

“Yeah, no one ever talks about the stench and poor hygiene of the past.” Aki moved her nose gay from her nose now that they were the only sources of bad smell. “Lice in the wigs, makeup that will kill you-“

“Future next if you don’t mind.” Rory said trying to find a place to scrape off the excrement from his shoes. Glass floors couldn’t hide the mess even a little.

The Doctor fiddled with the console, scanning his companions. 

Human human, Other. 

What was that about? If the ship couldn’t identify her species it should say Unknown.

“At least it was Germany and not France. They hardly bathe even by your time. _Sale pute malady. <\i>” Aki cursed._

_Well, someone didn’t like the French. Had she lived there? He hoped the Ponds didn’t know French._

“Anyways. Clean up and we will visit one of the Earth colonies. Similar feel without the undesirable bits.” The Doctor said. 

“Welcome to Cheem! Best smelling healthiest human colony ever!” The Doctor smirked. 

“Like the forests of Cheem?” Rose smirked. 

She’d chosen a short plum dress with brown leggings and boots. She’d chosen the middle aged dark brunette with violet gold eyes shimmer of a diplomat. Old enough to be taken seriously, young enough not to appear matronly. Eyes unusual enough to be remembered. Hair dark enough to blend into most human populations in a crowd. It had become her base shimmer since the start of this afterlife. 

“Exactly like.” The Doctor agreed with a smile that bordered on a giggle. 

She shouldn’t have given anything away with her knowledge. Yes Rose Tyler knew of them through Jabe but Corin had taken her to the parallel Cheem when they’d wanted somewhere safe and cozy. It was popular enough human like species. Corin had blamed her fondness on her ape ancestors But what was his excuse? Had his cat like ancestors felt comforted among trees they could scratch against? 

“What is that smell? It’s like cinnamon maple syrup.” Rory asked, arm and arm with his bride. 

“Sugar Pine trees.” The Doctor said. 

She noticed how he shut his mouth about it being a maple syrup alternative on Old Earth. Ah. Some tact in his old age. The trees had ears. And bowels in these parts. 

“Entire planet is a forest with rivers and streams and a few lakes. 

“Ohh. I bet they sell maple candy! Maple syrup-“ Rose covered her Amy’s mouth with a hand and shook her head in warning. 

“No! No! Rule One of Cheem. Never ever harm a single root or branch of any tree. Don’t even suggest it.” The Doctor gestured wildly. It seemed to be a body specific trait to gesture with any word he uttered. 

“Seriously. It’s a cardinal offense. Otherwise Cheem is as safe as stone houses.” Rose added. 

Rory and Amy clearly thought they were being tree huggers. The problem, well one of the problems with the Doctor is that he’d give vague warnings and unsuspecting companions would get into trouble because of all he left out. Welp, that’s where she came in. 

“Humans have a small presence on this Earth colony. It was settled by sentient Earth trees. Seriously they eventually evolve Walkable roots. Even the paper you’ll see comes from fallen leaves from the deciduous trees in the fall. Gentle with any branch you encounter.” Rose explained keeping her voice serious. 

>“Well, obviously! Didn’t I just say?” The floppy haired Doctor said. 

“No, you vagued. Assuming like Gallifreyans they could read your outer emotions and intentions.” Rose crosses her arms over her chest and lead the way. 

“Thanks Aki! That was helpful.” Rory called. 

“Phhft. Troubles the fun part.” Amy argued but kept an eagle eye on the trees around her. “Hello tree!” 

“Hullo Human.” Creaked a 20 foot apple tree. 

Amy screeched and then looked up in wonder. “It talks Rory! Like wizard of Oz.” 

His eyes were wide as saucers but kept it cool. “It appears so.” 

The apple tree looked upset arrayed in small white blooms. 

“Sorry for My friends they’ve never met Tree before.” Rose lightly bowed her body like a willow branch. “I am called Aki. Would you direct us to the nearest human field?” 

“Most trees are hermaphrodites and prefer the pronoun Phe unless they look obviously gendered.” 

“He means some trees wear boobs when amongst humans to avoid questions, and never ask about any low,” Rose gestured at the Doctors crotch,” twigs.” 

i>“Phe tree unless it wees.” The Doctor giggled. asked. 

Rory looked disturbed. “How does that even-“ 

i>“Less said the better Rory.” The Doctor tilted his head at the apple tree.” 

i>“Right.” 

The apple tree moved one of its arms that looked like an arm with finger twigs to their right and a trail. 

i>“Right. Thanks Mx. Apple Tree.” Amy said before skipping down the trail. 

“Just eat some herbivores please. As many as you like.” The tree called. 

i>Rory gaped then closed his mouth. “There is something unsettling about having a tree tell you eat meat.” 

“Glad I’m not a vegetarian.” Amy grinned at him. 

i>Rose nodded. “ A bit like cows telling you to eat chicken. 

i>It wasn’t long before they exited the forest to find an ecological disaster. 

Grassland mostly consumed. A muddy river with dead fish floating on top. The temperature went up at least 30 degrees in the sun. Emaciated buffalo eating the roots of trees. 

“Well that’s more like it!” The Doctor called. 

_Rose winced and rubbed her brow. She knew he meant he was excited to have a problem to solve instead of just a hike but It wasn’t received well by his companions._

_“What do they do when an animal breaks the law?” Amy asked._

_“Compost?” Rory guesses correctly._

>“This isn’t right. Some humans keep buffalo but they’re fenced in.” Rose ventured farther on their path. 

A bunny tried to eat Rorys green trousers but was fought off by another making the same attempt. 

“No, they should have decimated that Apple Tree but Phe was only nibbled on.” The Doctor said. 

The married couple looked at him like he was a jerk. 

i>“Many of the trees have electrical deterants to keep from being peed on or worse.” Rose said. 

i>She’d seen them being sold like hot cakes to Trees in the markets. Even these bunnies were cultivated to sell their dung to young growing trees in need of extra minerals. 

i>“Ah, yes. They wood.” The Doctor said as he came up to her side. 

She groaned. 

i>“You need to branch out from the puns Doctor.” Rose hip checked him. 

i>“Oh yes. Need to root out the bad habit.” He took her hand and swung it. 

She couldn’t keep the giggle in. It was like old times, almost. 

i>He hummed in delight. 

i>“Is that how geeks flirt?” Amy asked her husband in derision. “Puns.” 

i>“At least how the Doctor does I imagine.” Rory said, shaking off another bunny from his trouser leg. 

“Indeed I puntificate on the offerings of minute.” The Doctor called back. 

They groaned. 

The landscape only got worse on their way to the Human town. Farms and fields just as muddy and destroyed. 

The Doctor entered the first tavern and announced loudly, “Your land is shit.” 

i>Rory slapped his forehead to the sudden quiet of the room. Rose wasn’t surprised but sighed at the rudeness. This wasn’t going to get them anywhere. 

“What happened?” Rose pushes in front of the Doctor and put as much honest concern into her voice as she could. 

“It’s not just us, it’s most of the planet.” An older man argued. 

Many of the people looked far more drunk than they should be at this time of day. Even the Estate had some standards. They all knew what it was but were powerless to change it. Right then this is where she came in. 

i>“I’d like 4 Berry smoothies please.” Trees were sentient but plants weren’t. 

i>She handed over her credit stick to the Innkeep and left a hefty tip. These people were hurting. This time of year there should be spring festivals and lots of human shaped tourists poping out of every shop. When you were this poor you didn’t want people pointing it out. 

i>The Doctor was discussing the problem with the elders while Rory was being bombarded with medical questions and requests for service on everything from malnutrition to bones sticking out of badly wrapped wounds. 

i>Amy accepted her drink and held onto Rorys. “Cheers.” 

“It was fine until after the monthlong storm took out all the fences and the livestock broke free!” A rancher argued. 

i>“No, we were running low on feed before then because those dumb bunnies and deer broke into the croplands-“ A farmer argued. 

i>“Well that wouldn’t have happened if those city folk hadn’t sold off the wolves off world.” 

i>“It’s the ranchers who sold or killed them to the cityfolk.” 

i>“Cause they were killing our livestock!” 

“Naw. You lot did it because the money were good.” 

i>“No one knew they were going to take all of them.” Another whined in guilt. 

Rose handed the Doctor his drink which he downed quickly. She could tell he was sick of the talk and was antsy to do something impressive. 

“So you removed the apex predator and were surprised when the ecosystem collapsed.” She summarized. 

“Even though it’s happened thousands of times in old Earths written record.” The Doctor added. 

i>“With wolves in particular.” She added. 

i>One of them actually started crying. 

i>They were quite the mess. Greed and hatred and fear were a reoccurring problem in many species, especially her own. So they’d screwed up. 

“It worse than that.” A woman muttered. “They’re starting to eat the trees.” 

On Cheem, anyone who was involved in harming a tree became composted and whole villages of humans across the planet could claim blame. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again no word or proper word processor so no decent spellcheck or ease In fixing issues.
> 
> Thanks Discord group for your help again in brainstorming and Doctor Who knowledge! I couldn’t write this and certainly not this fast or consistently without your support! <3


	6. Wolves for the trees pt2

Chapter 6

They had returned to the tardis to follow the wolf fur trail. No wolves but fur in the spaceports. After asking around they discovered most of them were going to ironically named planet Lobos.

“I’ve been to Lobos before. They have space pirates.”

“But no wolves despite being named wolf.“ Aki glanced at him from the other side of the console. The landing was suspiciously quiet. Well she had lived on Gallifrey. Maybe she’d learned how to drive.

“Well they’ve fixed that problem.” Amy said.

“And we will just borrow back a few packs. No big deal.” The Doctor said.

“Black market wolves. “ Aki said. “ Are they beaming them up? “

“Probably dart and cage.” Rory said before The Doctor could. “That’s how they do it with Animal control on Earth.”

“Right, so that’s how we’re going to do it, then?” Amy asked.

“Nope. Because I speak wolf.” The Doctor said proudly.

“Since when?” Aki had her hands on her hips.

Ah. Something about him she didn’t know. That was reassuring.

“I speak billions of languages-“

“No. The TARDIS translates a billion you know closer to a million. You’re not telling me wolf is among them. Were you really bored once?” She challenges him.

He straightened his bow tie unnecessarily to boost his confidence.

“This body I speak wolf, horse and baby.”

Aki turned to the Ponds for confirmation.

They shrugged. “Seems so.”

She studied his face for a while. He tried not to squirm and reinforced his mental shields just to be safe. “So... skilled at reading emotions of simple minded beings due to telepathy?”

“Oh, sure take all the magic out of it.” He wandered towards the door.

“Wait. Are you saying the Doctor can read minds?” Rory asked from behind him.

“His species are touch telepaths and have a sort of hive mind.” Aki explained.

Great. Tell them everything why don’t you.

“Are you saying he can read my mind when he’s touched my hand?” Amy raged.

The Doctor winced as he heard Amy stomp towards him.

“Raggedy man, have you been in my mind?” Amy demanded.

He scratched the back of his neck. “Can’t really help noticing strong emotions. But I’d never intrude IN your mind without your permission, Pond.” It was against the rules of most telepathic species. Well, he also really didn’t want to be in Amy’s mind. Full of unclothed Rorys and their private time. 

He pulled the door open behind him to escape.

“You never said!” Amy raged behind him.

“To be fair, he rarely says anything important.” Rory said as he exited.

“Oui!” The Doctor let his offense show.

“Timelords are taught to conceal all personal information at the Academy lest a rival use it to their advantage.” Aki said in his defense.

Lobos was mountainous and much drier than Cheem, yet they faced the ocean on one side. The humans would probably consider it similar to very long dry tropical island. The sky was tinted pink with yellow clouds. The seas were teal. 

He could hear bock bocking sounds carried on the breeze. Must be near a farm.

They approached a walking tree that looked more like the ones he’d seen on satellite five. More like a human with a bad skin condition for bark. Well slim and elegant with shiny green leaf hair. If Rose we’re here he’d be worried about it flirting.

No. Not right now. He was busy. Moping was for when the humans slept. He worked very hard to box up everything that reminded him of her. It was nothing. Trees and wolves were just that. 

He took a deep breath. Wow. Surely even the humans noticed that smell. Like apple pie.

“Hola Mx. Abol.” Aki said in Spanish instead of having the tardis translate it.

“Cinnabar. And you?” Cinnabar greeted in new Spanish with a more than friendly glance and that was definitely a lower twig. 

“Aki short for a plant in the Apple and strawberry larger family.” Aki replied. 

The Doctor made a list of every plant in the... no. No! Those were both in the Rosaceae family of Earth plants. The Rose family.

“Ah. So we’re compatible. I’m a cross of Apple and Cinnamon tree.” The tree was flirting.

Amy and Rory moved closer to the tree and breathing deeply of his strong cinnamon apple pheromones. He was probably always asked to parties.

“I used to love going to the Fall festivals of Cheem, have you performed there? You have quite the control over your pheromones.”

“I could just-“ Amy started and stopped herself with some embarrassment and swallowed. “ You smell nice.”

“I know.” The tree said.

He pushed through his companions.

“We’re here about the wolves.”

“You’re on wolves.” The tardis had translated his words into the language like a brat.

“Yes, about the animal wolves who were recently transported here.”

He heard Aki mutter,”Real subtle.”

Cinnabar frowned. “You’re not here for the Cacao tree gala?”

“No.” He answered.

“The Cacao cult is only on Cheem.” Aki said.

“There’s a chocolate cult. Of course there is.” Rory said looking at his wife.

A perfect opportunity to teach.

“Well there was IxCacao the goddess of chocolate for the Mayans. Aztecs used it as an offering to the goddess of fertility. Their emperor gave it to woman he planned to- procreate with. Nahuatl. They called it. A bridge between heaven and Earth.Food of the gods. Marriage involved drinking cocoa and exchanging the beans which is funny because I once accidentally proposed to an Aztec by sharing a chocolate drink. Big Opps.”

They stared at him like he’d rambled.

“The pirates have set up a reinactment and charged the guests inexorabatant credits to watch them make a couple of young Cacao trees drink their own chocolate and then sacrifice them instead of humans.” Cinnabar watched their faces carefully.

He was sure that the all looked shocked and appalled at murdering young sentient beings.

“That’s awful.” Aki said as if the thought would make her cry.

She turned to him.”We have to stop them.”

“We’re already busy getting the  
Wolves back to save Cheem.” It’s not that he didn’t want to help but one thing at a time. Aki rolled her eyes and growled. That was unsettling.

“Well I’m going. You can find the wolves while I save the children. “ she turned  
To Rory. “Think you could help out if they get hurt.”

“Its my mission to save them.” Cinnabar objected.

“Then I’ll go with you. I’ve been trained in rescue and recovery.” Aki spoke like a commander. It was kinda hot. No. Not hot. Weird. She was soft and kind. Made for high society functions. A runner from danger. Well either way she was the last bit of his planet left. If she died he’d have no one to talk to about his world or speak his language with.

“You can’t go. I didn’t say you could go.” The Doctor objected.

She tossed him a communicator.

“We’ll meet up with you later.” She said like she was the one in charge. “You can keep your friends safe.

She didn’t even look at him. All eyes on her shimmer controls on her bracelet.

This wasn’t how this worked. He was the Doctor. He made the plans. He decided who went where and when.

The Ponds talked. He didn’t really pay attention.

“I’m not your responsibility. You don’t have a duty of care.” Aki reminded him.

Why did his guts twist when she said that. It was accurate wasn’t it. She was just a new guest. But.

She couldn’t leave so soon. He still had questions he needed her to answer.

“But-“

“Use setting 345 to track the wolf fur.” She insisted.

“Why were people stealing wolves for anyways?” Amy asked.

“Control pest populations on colony worlds.” He answered automatically.

“Like Egyptians kept cats to keep rodents from eating their food?” Rory asked.

“Exactly like. The Tardis landed us here because it detected them close by.”

He looked up to argue with Aki again but she and Cinnabar were gone. Together. He growled possessively. It was instinct.

“Are you trying to call the wolves?” Amy asked looking at him funny.

“Oh, yes, of course. Yes. That’s what I was doing.” He covered and pointed where the sonic suggested. “Come along Ponds.”

They followed without argument which made them the superior companions right? Then what was this silly sense of loss and desire to trade with Cinnabar in all his fall smelling glory.

/////

Corin would have loved this.

Rose has lost count of the number of royalty, politicians and children she and Corin had snuck away from despots. It was usually to stop a war or invasion. 

She was saving chocolate from evil. She found herself giggling.

‘They shall get their just desserts, Rose.’ Corin would say.

It would be corny and punny and they’d giggle like children anyway.

Rose chose a short deep red dress with slits for maneuverability. The shimmer allowed her to look like she wore matching high heels while keeping her sneakers on.

Corin had made it for her when it became too obvious she wasn’t aging and wrinkle cream couldn’t be blamed. She was probably the only woman in the history of humanity to work so hard to look elderly.

Getting in was easy.

Cinnabar pretended to be one of the servants while she fit the profile of a guest who happened to be an arborist.

“Have you checked their sap for any toxins or mealy bugs?” Rose asked one of their hosts. “I didn’t pay a fortune for substandard product.”

“Mealy bugs?”

“They feed on their sap. These trees could be nearly dry. They certainly don’t look healthy.” She made a show of eying the trees up and down.

“And you are?” The burley fellow asked.

“Marion, lead arborist for Vermont Maple Inc, of course.” She crosses her arms and played rich executive. “Since I’m already here, I’m willing to lower my fee so that even you could afford it.”

And she was lead closer. She glanced at Cinnabar who confirmed that there were 20 guards around the place.

Eh. Still doable. Even with Cinnabar being a pirate himself and therefore likely to betray her to sell the Cocoa trees to another bidder. 

///  
The Doctor and the Ponds soon found themselves surrounded by two foot tall chickens.

The doctor pulled out his ‘thing that  
goes ding when there is stuff.’ One of it’s side effects was it made chickens explode at 20 paces. It was a last resort. He’d never thought he would use it against chickens purposefully.

“They’re like mini raptors.” Amy said as she kicked a chicken in the face.

“Well they are descendants of dinosaurs. T rexes to be precise.” The Doctor said.

Rory was flashing his pen light at them.

“Chickens, though?” Rory said.

“Ah, probably like Hawaii. Congrats Ponds. The real Hawaii experience for your honeymoon. Well, most tropical islands on Earth except the chickens are bigger.”  
He said.

“Exactly how is this like Hawaii?” Amy maneuvered herself towards a tree. She tried to grab a chicken to wring it’s neck but it pecked into her arms and left them bleeding. 

“This is part of a series of islands colonized by space pirates. Same old story. They bring chickens. There is a storm the chickens go free and wild.”

“Wouldn’t they just get eaten by dogs or whatever?” Amy asked. Rory kicked a chicken away from her.

“No,” The Doctor rubbed his hands together in glee. “Chickens are the apex predator on islands.”

Amy said something the Tardis didn’t approve of. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“So, they imported the wolves to eat their flocks.” Rory deduced.

“Ironic isn’t it?”

That’s when the wolves showed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter required a ton of research. Cocoa trees and all that is cocoa really were revered by the Aztecs,Mayans,Olmec and the goddess of the chocolate was real- all the Doctor spouts out is. Cocoa beans were also used as currency. They were offered to the goddess of fertility and given to those about to be sacrificed.
> 
> The Rose family includes apples strawberries and most of your favorite fruit trees.
> 
> Not enough is known about the trees of Cheem. They look human but are they mammals now or reproduce via seed or starts? I took liberties here because there isn’t info.
> 
> Lobos is an actual Doctor Who planet. It means wolf in Spanish.
> 
> Thank you again to my discord team for helping me through my writing blocks! Aelwyn, Tugboat, LadyInari and LadyHope in particular. I’d never get this far without your invaluable help and inspiration!


	7. Wolves for the trees part 3

Chapter 7

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that these trees have very exacting requirements to keep alive.” Rose said, lowering her arm down towards the floor and let a shimmer bracelet fall as she patted Ixcan’s head.

“They are exhaustive to keep as pets.” Bradley admitted.

She walked over to the other chained tree to hide her disgust at making a sentient being a ‘pet’. “Expensive too.”

Bradley went on and in about his perceived trials. Distracting himself. Good.

Rose made a show of examining Kakawa’s scared trees limbs for bugs. When she was really telepathically communicating her basic plan of escape to the trees as she touched them.

“Hmm.” She scraped a bit of bark off. “ Do you have a lab to process the sample? I have the code on this cloudstick.”

The trick was always in the timing. She had taken Pictures of two innocent looking young women at the party. She now needed her guard guest to look away long enough to slip the shimmers onto the trees. Ideally he’d leave her with them. It was easy enough to make them look unbound that way. But they also needed to get far enough away it wasn’t obviously a shimmer. She didn’t see any of the species she knew could detect a high quality shimmer in attendance.

“Back here we do processing. “ Bradley the burly owner said.

“Excellent. Be a dear and take it in. Results should be back in 5 minutes.” Rose dismissed him.

As soon as he turned she flicked a switch on her sonic pen to repeat the last five minutes of the security footage for the next 15 minutes. Then she broke their chains and implant with another well placed sonic setting.

Kakawa and Ixcan bowed their heads to the floor to pick up the brackets she had dropped.

Up came two unassuming human girls who could pass as relatives of her current shimmer. Out they walked. They stopped at the buffet table and snacked on a few non chocolate options.

The problem was of course you couldn’t mask the smell. They just had to carry some hot cocoa with them from the table to play off the source of the smell. 

They entered a hallway that led to the bathrooms and a side exit.

Rose couldn’t quite control her body’s response to pure chocolate pheromones. They are people not food, she reminded herself guiltily. She’d had this problem when they’d visited the alternate Shine of Cacao. This was how experienced Cocoa trees lured in their followers. 

Kakawa had alluring fruity notes while Ixcan had spicy sharp notes to his pheromones. She really needed to get them into the open air. Rose swallowed her saliva, and ate another strawberry to distract her senses.

“You did it.” Cinnabar called from the ATV he had secured.

“Indeed. The party was rather boring and we would like to head home now.”

Kakawa and Ixcan both let out relieved breaths.

///

“Don’t make direct eye contact and whatever you do don’t run.” The Doctor warned the Ponds.

The wolves growled and they found themselves the roosting fence for a dozen chickens a piece. It made staying standing hard.

Amy blew out feathers from her face and attempted to detach a chicken but their claws were firmly attached to their clothing.

“I hope you’re not overly fond of your outfits.” The Doctor said.

Granted with chicken parts on them the wolves might go after them but it was more likely they’d stop for their easy feast.

This was supposed to be a rescue mission of the wolves not from them.

“Time for you to commune with the beasts.” Rory said watching his side of the wolf pack as blood dripped from his arms from the chickens claws.

“Right.” He sensed amusement. They might as well have been broadcasting “dumb humans wandering into our territory and getting attacked by easy food.”

There were ten of them and three of us surrounded and attacked by chickens. Oh, he imagined he just looked a sight.

Oh, and there they were now deciding on whether to eat them too.

Well he was the oncoming storm he wasn’t going to let himself die due to excitable chickens where Daleks had failed.

“ I’m the all powerful chicken god. If you will not come with us the chickens will explode.” He bluffed. This was not his proudest moment or plan.

He heard snickering from the Ponds. “Yes. He is the god of the chickens.” Amy confirmed.

The wolves tilted their heads in confusion. Oh now they thought he was crazy. They were debating if he was safe to eat. Maybe he had eaten poison. Very rude wolves. He’d teach them to laugh at him.

He heard something big approach from behind Which startled him. He pressed the button.

For a second nothing happened the suddenly there were no chickens. Just blasted blood flesh and entrails.

Amy screamed. “You got it in my eye! You couldn’t have warned us?!”

Rory wiped his face and spat out bits of raw chicken.

The wolves were no longer laughing. They were eating.

Of course that was when Aki came back. Laughing hysterically at his expense.

She was dressed in a sexy red number, with two chocolate trees with her.

“Glad your mission went better.” The Doctor said moving towards her ATV.

Cinnabar looked disgusted and superior. 

“Well wrathful chicken god I snuck past security with my brains not my guts.”

The Doctor winced. She’d heard that?

“They aren’t coming in here are they?” Kakawa asked Aki. “They smell of death.”

“Afraid so. Come on, come meet the wolves.” Aki urged the children out of the ATV. She didn’t have to but by Cinnabar’s frustrated expression she might need to. Something else was going on there.

The Ponds stayed as far from the wolves as possible. Rory took off his ruined shirt.

“So, do the wolves even know you’re here to offer to return them to their old hunting grounds?”

“Was a bit busy being trampled by chickens.” The Doctor said.

“Please tell me exploding chickens wasn’t the main purpose of that device.” Aki asked.

“No, just a side effect.” The Doctor went to hug Aki with open arms.

She squealed and dodged. “Someone has to look like the adult.” 

River would have insulted him and been disgusted by his state. Aki seemed amused.

Aki handed out face wipes to them.

She handed the Ponds instashampoo, a towel and a hairbrush. Aki must have dimensionally transcendent pickets too.

The Doctor pulled out a bottle of water to pour over his head and tried to make himself presentable by tossing his coat into his trouser pocket.

Aki stepped towards the wolves and bowed slightly. “Your pack has been wronged and taken from your territory on Cheem. I am here to right the wrongs and offer to return you home, with these native trees, if you wish.”

She had their full attention.

“ Our transport can return you in minutes.” He offered. They glanced at him dismissively. Rude.

The three foot tall wolves went to Aki and started rubbing against her side. They believed her. 

She rubbed them behind their ears.

Many went back to finish off the chicken bits.

She gestured to him and two wolves approached him. They opened their mouths and started eating chicken bits off him. Gross if slightly effective.

“Leave the hair alone please!” He said.

Another jumped up onto him and licked the chicken off his face.

Their breath was awful. The Doctor fought to keep the body language of a man unafraid.

Then the wolves all jumped down and howled. It was like being surrounded by throat singers. 

“So, you saved two innocent children from being publicly murdered and came back in time to save us from the wolves and convinced them to come with us, why do we keep the Doctor around again?” Amy asked Aki.

“Oi! I’m still the driver Pond!”

“Bad driver you mean.” Amy called back.

“She’s still cross about the chickens.” Rory exclaimed next to him.

“Clearly the Doctor is having an off day.” Aki said, the lead wolf turned back to face him at Aki’s side. “Distracted by something?”

Part of him wanted to say you. But that was silly. He’d barely met this woman.

“You startled me is all. Didn’t mean to press the button unless I had to.” The Doctor grumbled. “Didn’t your parents teach you not to sneak up on people when they’re in the middle of something?”

Aki smirked at him. “Isn’t sneaking and startling your plan A? And actually my dad taught me espionage so.” She shrugged.

Gods, it was hard to be mad at her. Was the charm natural?

“How am I to trust you not to rob me blind?”

“When was the last time you paid for something using money you earned from a job, again?”

Ouch. Probably his third body. Wait, no he never got paid when he did Craig’s job, or when he was a teacher.

“I never stick around long enough to get paid.”

“You’d never survive on your own.” Aki laughed merrily. “Good thing the TARDIS was charitable and took you in.” She bit her tongue, frowned and went back to facing forward.

The wolves followed Aki back towards the ship as if she was the Alpha now. So did the Ponds. The Cocoa trees held hands and kept close to Aki.

It really wasn’t fair. He was the leader.

Amy and Rory were deferring to her and her opinion now. She came in here and started taking his companions. Maybe it was some telepathic trick? He checked. Nope she was keeping her mind to herself but he could feel the buzz of her mind which drew him closer. It had been so long since he’d traveled with another telepath.

The Doctor spent the walk back counting the wolves. Around 24. That was a lot. No, there hadn’t been that many before. More approached from the woods. Had word gotten out?

The Cocoa trees ran to the TARDIS and pressed their hands to its walls. Did the fake wood exterior offend them?

“Hello Fellow tree. Why are you stuck in a box?”Ixcan asked.

“So she can travel anywhere instantly.” Aki replied for his ship.

The TARDIS wasn’t a tree but she was a living sentient plant.

“She needs to live in a lot of water and no planet could fit her.” He answered.

“Hmm. Hello Sexy!” Kakawa said.

Now they were hitting on his ship?

“Excuse me?” The Doctor said.

“That’s her name. Sexy. Well what you call her.” Kakawa answered.

The Doctor turned beet red. He could tell Amy was about to say something and pointed at her. “Shut up. Just Shut up. I’m already having a bad day.”

He wasn’t able to stop Aki from giggling.

Aki stroked the TARDIS. “Hello Sexy.”

“Oh, not you too.” He groaned. Of course the TARDIS responded enthusiastically to her new friends.

Time to show who was the pilot here. He snapped his fingers.

Nothing.

The Doctor frowned at the TARDISs locked doors. He read the Gallifreyan sign for their benefit. “No wolves allowed! Bad wolves will scratch glass interior and relieve themselves on surfaces. Doors won’t open until wolves are shipped by others.”

Ugh. When would this day end? He wanted a hot shower. He tried his key. It didn’t work.

Come on. Just for a few minutes, eh?

Wait. He reread the message bad wolves. Was it a coincidence or another place touched by Rose’s power? Or just another painful reminder courtesy of the TARDIS.

“So, Cinnabar, Any chance you could introduce me to your pirate friends?” Aki asked. “I’ve got a job for them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Cocoa trees name are the Olmec name for chocolate and an altered Aztec name for it.
> 
> I had too much fun writing this. The chickens!!
> 
> I need to be nicer to the Doctor.


	8. Part 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are references to the book The Resurrection Casket a 10/Rose novel but you don’t have to read it to understand.
> 
> And a firefly reference.
> 
> No spellcheck sorry.
> 
> The next chapter will end this adventure quick and will feature River and Jack. Angst, comedy and possibly resolution to the Doctors misunderstanding.
> 
> Haven’t decided on where they’ll go for it. Any 11 episodes you want to see or disasters? Picnic on Asgard?
> 
> After that adventure we will have a Doctors Wife rewrite with Rose involved.

Chapter 8

“You look and act like a rich professor and both of them have the moneyed look. You’ll scare the contacts away.”

“Like you’d do any better Ambassador.”

Rose changed her shimmer to a hardened practical woman in her 40s.

“I’d let you come if you were 3, 7 or 9. They could pull it off.” She tilted her head.

She could see the wheels in his head move and the surprise she knew him that well.

Rose hugged the Doctor to whisper in his ear.

“Need you to find a way to mask the chocolate smell and create a device that will track the wolves so we know they make it to Cheem and aren’t rekidnapped.”

The Doctor seemed to understand more. Less likely to get in trouble if he was occupied as well.

///

“Mrs. Aki” Cinnabar inclined his head.

Mrs? The Doctor looked down. Of course the wedding ring on her finger. Getting sloppy in his old age. It appeared to be of Gallifreyan design.

Her favorite Timelords were Romana and Brax. She hated Rassilon and didn’t want him to know who she was but she knew him very well.

Of course!

She was Romana who would hate Rassilon as he deposed her of her Presidency. Married to his brother who was her favorite Timelord. It had been a joke at his expense. 

It wasn’t so bad being outwitted by Romana. She was one of the most brilliant timelords that had ever lived. Save for marrying his brother.

Aki could be short for Akytior, Romana’s favorite flower.

The shimmer worked so well because it was Lungbarrow made of course. She must be in hiding. 

“The man who gave you that ring , Is he still alive?” The Doctor asked.

Aki- no Romanas stricken face said it all. It was a long shot he was alive. Braxiatel had loved mother Gallifrey more than himself but of course he’d get Romana off world.

Of course she was hiding from him. Of course the TARDIS loved her. It was logical as the last of their species that they should breed and create a loom to reesstablish their kind. She’d hate that.

Something must have happened during the war to change her readings or something Brax did to help hide her. Of course it wasn’t a mistake.

“My condolences on your loss.” The Doctor said. “I’ll help the children.”

“Watch the wolves.” Aki said to him. Then pointed at him and turned to the wolf pack.

“He’s a mate of mine. Don’t eat him. I’ll be back with transport.” Aki promised the wolves. Romana had always excelled at negotiation.

Something must have happened during the war to change her readings or something Brax did to help hide her. Of course it wasn’t a mistake.

“My condolences on your loss.” The Doctor said. “I’ll help the children.”

“Watch the wolves.”

“He’s a mate of mine. Don’t eat him. I’ll be back with transport.” Aki said to the wolves. Romana had always excelled at negotiation.

The wolves backed away. Some chased each other. Others napped.

“Watch the wolves.” The Doctor directed the Ponds towards the trees.

“So babysitting while you get to do the fun stuff.” Amy complained with a huff.

“Better than more exploding poultry.” Rory said.

Kakawa and Ixcan didn’t like the smell or the situation but they weren’t being sacrificed so they were probably grateful. Aki- Romanas extra shimmers worked well enough that he wasn’t immediately worried about a mob of cultists in fancy dress coming after them. Even if they did the field full of wolves with blood around their mouthes was likely to be a sufficient deterrent.

Ventriloquism of the Nose was an easy enough trick for a timelords own body. Ah!

The Doctor knocked on the TARDIS behind him.

“Be a dear and extend an olfactory shield for the kids, eh?” It was the TARDIS’s fault they weren’t already home after all.

He felt her acquiescence.

Once out of the shield he went through his pockets for bits and bobs to make a tracker and call button. A bit like a supercharged LifeAlert for wolves.

Easy. 

He should tell Aki that when she got back. The Ponds didn’t appreciate his humor as she did.

As his hands worked his mind wandered. He didn’t make friends this easy when life and death weren’t involved. 

It wasn’t making. It was reforming old bonds of friendship. He supposed altering species was enough of a change to warrant it. He would try not to comment on her dulled senses.

Although maybe she meant that since he’d condemned the rest of their species to death she wasn’t sure she wanted to be friends with him. It would be fair.

Best not mention it if she didn’t know and maybe thought the Matrix was just down or didn’t recognize her as Gallifreyan with whatever life saving changed she had.

///

Rose blew out a relieved breath once they were a mile from the TARDIS. That had been close. More TARDIS meddling. Had the ship given her away?

No. He’d want to talk about it. Probably ask why she was hiding from him. Even without River there was the matter of her life. 

Humans weren’t made for Immortality. They were never raised with the possibility of outliving everyone you know. Over and Over again. Decades had started to feel short. 

Timelords probably had a class on it at the academy.

Life just kept going. Dragging her along. The awful creatures she met the more she wondered what the point was in saving people to die from a car crash next week.

There was no until I see you again with Corin. No decades to endure with an end in sight. No one left who needed her. Her great great great grandchildren were safe with grandparents to care for them. 

No. The Doctor wouldn’t understand a need for a finish line to reach. She was just so tired. If he knew it was her he’d keep her around like a responsibility if he’d moved on with River, and as guilt and pain if he hadn’t yet.

“So how did you end up with that lot?” Cinnabar asked.

“Saved Red, earned myself a free ride. For now.” This was the start of earning his trust. Distancing herself from the others. “Used to do it professionally as part of the family business. Hired to retrieve lost heirs and the like. Pays good. Earns all sorts of favors. Few planets I officially can’t be harmed or jailed.”

“Nice.”

“You?”

“Travel. Do similar.”

Liar. That answer was basically ‘me too’. Meant to gain Trust without having to prove your abilities.

She made a show of rolling her eyes. “Suuure. So you grafted or engineered by the humans? Cinnamon and Apple trees aren’t compatible but it’s exactly what the humans would do.”

He glanced at her sharply. “You’re not human?”

“Gods, no. Just a convenient shimmer in the region.” Rose’s voice bled disdain and insult for his benefit. “Don’t get inspected for growth or produce.”

“You’re not a tree.” He stated. He’d know as she didn’t exude the pheromones or other chemicals.

“Clearly. But I bet the Cacao cult on Cheem would pay a bounty to get one of their own back.” She glanced at him. “And The Doctor only cares about the gooddoer feels and reputation.”

“ I was engineered. Makes humans like me.”

“Course it does. I didn’t choose a pretty human for kicks.” She said.

There was Cinnabars first real smile. It wasn’t nice.

Greed and being duplicitous was everywhere. So few wanted to do the right thing if it didn’t benefit them.

Not an issue unless he made it one. Just as usual surrounded by those she couldn’t trust.

He took her to a bar with a view of the coast. It was supposed to be neutral ground but was probably owned by his employers whether he knew it or not.

Treasure Island was decorated like an old Earth pirate ship. Problbly thought it Gabe them a classical ambience much like castles inEurope. Real sculls and swords displayed around a room made of wood.

“Those walls bother you?” She asked her companion.

“Mostly dumb pines and alien trees.” Cinnabar scowled.

She ordered a local ale and pulled out her invisible to them fluids bag. No way was she drinking what a possible nemesis handed her.

She leaned against a wall that let her see the whole room and be seen by.

Oh! Was that a robot? Suddenly she was struck with nostalgia about visiting Starfall with the Doctor. There had better not be a Ressurection Casket or evil murderous robots this time.

Although it had started with them being locked out of the TARDIS that time too.

Corin would bump her shoulder, take her hand and lead her out to the dance floor. ‘Come on Rose, we’ve got to find someone with a hook hand and goes Argh! I’ve made us pirate bingo cards.’

Instead she was here listening to Cinnabar’s creeper boss offer to do the job for a ridiculous 15,000 credits. 

“No thanks.” She walked away. Straight towards a more normal looking bloke who had been watching the conversation the whole time.

He wasn’t bad looking. Early forties styled brown hair. Tall. Maybe too muscular and jock like. There was a kindness to his eyes though.

“Something you like?” She asked.

“Just noticing you had a job need doing.”

“And you are?” She started dancing to the music.

“Malcolm Starline.” He tried to keep his eyes respectful despite the eye catching tank top and miniskirt that matched the era.

“You got a ship that can handle 50 wolves?” She challenged with a raised eyebrow.

“The planet?” He asked.

“The animal. Need to return them to their native habitat of Cheem. To save a planet if grateful colonists.”

“How grateful? That’s a weeks trip from here. Can’t do charity work.”

“Not asking for that. Intend to pay 2,000 for gas upfront and another 8,000 upon arrival..” It was still an extravagant number but part of her wanted to spit in the face of the bar owner.

“Done. I can do that. When do we leave?”

She led him to a table.

“Don’t suppose you work with Hamlek Glint?”

“The old pirate who killed his crew?”

“Lobos is known for pirates.” Rose shrugged.

“No. Just trying to make a living. Noticed you were old military too.” Malcolm said. Ah trying to impress her. “That was some strategic positioning.”

//

The Doctor could use the communicator to call Aki. But where was the fun in that?

The Ponds has worried that Aki hadn’t specifically told the wolves not to eat them. Silly. The wolves were full they’d be fine.

Aki thought this incarnation could not blend in. Hah. He’d show her. He ditched his jacket, tie, and undid 1/2 his buttons. He’d spiked his hair like a punk and rolled up his sleeves.

He wished he had a proper pirate hat. Three corners tipped back. He’d had to compensate by tinting his glasses. Sunglasses were always cool. 

He’d slunk into what appeared to be the interior of an old timey Pirate ship. It wasn’t of course. Those nails were definitely factory made, the artwork was only a few centuries old. The treasure chest was made with aluminum. The bar section had hypervodka and modern facilities. 

The almost certainly Romana would have noticed it too.

Why did it remind him of Starfall? Tech still worked. Weird. 

Rose would have had a laugh over it. Would have called the whole thing ‘try hard’.

He scanned the room for Aki. Ah. Over there dancing against a well muscled fellow who stole his suspenders idea. He’d had better spiked hair than that in his last body.

Where had Romana learned to twerk her butt against someone’s crotch? Her sexy moves her fluid. Not a bit of awkwardness or shame at all. Staring at this man as if he wasn’t in the room at all. Hair tossed his way and that as she undulated towards the floor, the space between her breasts on full display. His face felt hot. It was on behalf of the honor of the former president of course.

Being forced to do such things in The name of saving a world. It was very hard to watch but it was like a sudden tornado. Hard to turn away from the coming disaster.

He should. He should definitely save her.

Aki lead her partner to a private table where their hands brushed and this intruder looked at her like she’d hung the stars.

His brothers widow or not. 

He caught snippets of their conversation.

“You, me alone for nearly a week on your ship.” Aki flirted.

“And the wolves.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” She grinned cheekily. Their hands touched again.  
“Guess I’m in for the long hawl.”

They finished their drinks.

She grabbed Mr. Muscles hands and headed towards the door. It was like Jack all over again.

Mr. Muscles had a three point pirate hat. Of course he did. Smelling like oiled leather and 51st century hormone a few thousand years early. While he knew he still reaked of dead chicken.

He followed them out at a distance towards the shipyards. Now how to not look like a stalker.

He greeted her in Gallifreyan.

Aki turned around.

“ I tagged the wolves with their trackers and the other thing.” He pulled on his suspenders and posed.

“Good.” Was it his imagination or was she checking him out. That was fine. He was impressive after all.”New look suits you.”

The Doctored preened at that and turned to Mr. Muscles who wasn’t as impressive now despite the long brown coat and tight pants.

“Oh hello. I’m the Doctor. I’m sure she’s mentioned me.”

“Malcolm. And I’m afraid you’ve never come up.” He sounded American lovely.

He spoke in Gallifreyan ‘I’ve never come up?”

“Been Busy.” She said in English. “Malcolm this is my usual mechanic and pilot but his ship won’t take the wolves.”

“That’s hardly my fault.” He argued.

“Sentient ships have their downsides.” She sighed as she looked to Malcolm.

“I’m more then happy to assist.” Malcolm kissed her hand.

“Come along Doctor. I’m sure we can drop you off.” Oh that cheeky girl.

Malcolm offered the use of his shower rather pointedly, which he refused. Someone had to make sure Malcolm didn’t get handsy with Aki.

He pulled Aki with him when they got back to the TARDIS.

It didn’t take long to get the wolves rounded up.

“Well, it was nice meeting you Malcolm.” He lied. “Soon as the wolves are loaded up we will be on our way and meet you on Cheem in a week. Well, a week for you. A few minutes for us.”

He grabbed Aki’s hand who pulled away. 

“He’s not coming with us.” The Doctor stood firm.

“Course not. I’m heading with him.” “Only way the wolves will trust to get on another ship again.”

“I’ve got a decent size freighter.” Malcolm pointed to his ship that dwarfed the TARDIS. Not that exterior sizes mattered.

“ But the trackers can do that. They can talk to you from the TARDIS.” The Doctor said.

“You gave me a trip. Debt settled.” Aki shrugged. 

Vomit rose up his throat. She couldn’t just leave. Who would he talk to? The Ponds were all over each other and the Doctor refused to play third wheel for the rest of their life.

“But, but-you can’t.” You have to stay with me. And he couldn’t leave the other timelord alone with humans and slow transport. The thought was physically painful. “ I make bad decisions without you along. Think of the universe.”

She was the only thing keeping him from his teenage Rose stalking. The only person who could keep him distracted.

Aki laughed.

“I’ll see you on Cheem.” Aki said firmly leading the wolves on board the freighter.

What was it with this face and no one listening to him?

A whole week alone with Mr.Muscles and good hair. Who knows what he could convince her of in that time. 

“Stay safe!” He called after her.

“Thanks!” Malcolm grinned.

The Doctor scowled back. Hopefully she’d miss him instead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you forgot last chapter the Doctor thinks Rose is Romana.
> 
> The impossible Astronaut will be very different because Rose has a ton of life experience and sees the things the Doctor misses as always.

Chapter 9

After releasing the wolves Rose bade farewell to Malcolms crew. A lively lot just living paycheck to paycheck who preferred legal jobs when they could get them. Well, they could afford legal jobs for a few years on her payout.

That’s what she lived for these days. Making good peoples lives better.

The Doctor was waiting for her. It felt nice. 

“Hello!” She greeted. 

“How was your trip?” He asked and glanced at Malcolm. Oh. He was jealous. That was satisfying. It shouldn’t be. No claim to this Doctor but even without knowing who she was he had gotten at least a bit attached.

“Fine. Lovely family.” Rose said. No need to make the jealousy worse. “And the trees?”

“Back home and wiser than they left.” He said. “They wanted to give you this in payment for saving them. It was all Aki is the best this and crying in joy the whole trip there for me.”

He handed over a few thousand credits and a fragrant Cacao pod that looked like a red brown squash football.

“So just a few minutes of praise then.” She grinned.

“Well yes, but in my TARDIS when I was looking equally impressive.” He whined.

“Your ego is so fragile in this body.” Roses nose crinkled and sniffed. “Hey you showered!”

“No need for surprise then.” He objected. “So thousands of credits at your disposal what will you do with them?” He asked. It was a test of course to see what manner of woman she was.

She put the pod in her trans dimensional pockets. She was after all a woman who loved chocolate, and turned back to Malcolm. 

“Someone has got to be bribed to keep a lookout for these wolves and I think I know just the crew looking for a homebase.”

Malcolms crew hugged her tightly. They were honest folk the Trees would appreciate. Besides life stuck on a ship all the time was no place for a child. Not with a slow freighter anyways.

The Doctor looked so proud of her. She hadn’t seen him beam like that since she’d met this him.

They walked hand and hand back to the TARDIS.

“So you travel alone?” The Doctor checked.

“These days.” Rose conceded.

“That’s rubbish. No one should travel alone-“  
“We all need a hand to hold.” Rose echoed what he’d told her long ago.

“Exactly. I’m sure you’ve noticed the Ponds keep to themselves leaving me with a free hand.” He lifted her hand up then leaned against the TARDIS.

“Oh good. Hands free for the sonic-“ She teased.

“Yes! No! I mean. My ship has a vacancy that needs to be filled and you shouldn’t travel alone.”

He was asking her. Again. As she was now. She beamed brightly.

He opened the door behind him. Inward despite the Pull To Open sign.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

He gaped adorably. “You’ve already got a room.”

“I’d love to.” Rose said. “You’re right. Traveling on your own is rubbish. Start talking to yourself.”

He sent them into the vortex.

“On one condition.”

“Yeah?” He frowned.

“You let me pilot this side of the controls. Not as smooth as if we had the full six pilots but better for her health than 1.” Rose said.

“Sure you remember how?” He teased.

“Oh, yes.”

“Fine, those are the boring controls anyway.” He set in their destination while she added an atmospheric shell. One of her sections was communication with other ships. The Matrix wasn’t reconnected so this must be before this body met The Moment.

When Corin had entered the Matrix he had shared all of himself with her including previously locked memories that had brought them both joy. Joy she couldn’t share with this Doctor yet.

Time wasn’t fixed so she’d take. Her own precautions with her family and friends on Gallifrey.

“Come see!” The Doctor said, leading her to the doors.

It looked out on a star going supernova. Protective shell for the win. It decimated the planets in its pull in minutes.

“What is it with exploding stars for you?” Rose thought back to their first date fondly.

“Sorry?” He startled next to her.

“I mean you and destroying stuff.” She covered and caught her mistake too late.

He stared down and was quiet for a moment. No doubt thinking of Gallifrey which be believed to be destroyed by his hand. 

“I wanted to show you that new life can come when old life ends.” He sounded guilty and pathetic. She ached to comfort him. But she couldn’t do that yet.

“I don’t blame you, you know.” Rose offered, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

He gasped a sob and covered his mouth. “You should R-“

Her heart stopped. “What?!”

“I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” He said.

“No but you said-“

“I figured out who you really were yesterday.”

The wolves and bad wolf of course he did. 

“Is that why you invited me along?” Rose squeezed her eyes shut.

“No. You’re brilliant! Even before I knew I wanted you along.” The Doctor said.

Well that was somewhat of a relief. She didn’t want to be a tag along.

“I’m not your responsibility.” Rose insisted.

“You’re old enough now to make your own decisions I get it, but we don't have to be alone anymore.” He said. “No matter what we’ve lost.”

This wasn’t how she thought this conversation would go. Could he be mistaken?

“I’ve gotta say I think I preferred you blonde not that it matters.”

“People take you less seriously when you’re blonde.” Rose said. Honestly blonde also reminded her of her life with Corin and before him.

They watched it in silence before he continued.

“No need to hide. I just wanted you to know I would never presume to mate with you. It’d be a bit awkward after your husband passed eh?”

What!?!

He stood up and walked towards the console.

“What?”

“I mean we sorta dated when we were younger but that was before you got married and I’d never presume to fill his place despite you know the similarities.”

Oh god. He’d moved on. It shouldn’t hurt like this. He was supposed to. He had River Song. But it did. He didn’t even sound the bit bothered or awkward about it. Like she’d been nothing.

This was what she’d wanted. Him to move on and be happy and okay if she was tired with life. Able to breeze in and out of his life as friends. Turns out centuries later and she still wasn’t even vaguely over him.

Her entire body said to run. Run as far away as possible. Across dimensional walls. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks as she watched a new solar system grow. 

She couldn’t run though. She’d just said she wanted to travel with him. Not so soon. Maybe she’d get lucky and this River wouldn’t show up while she was around.

You brought me here for this?! She yelled at the TARDIS.

He still needs you. She insisted.

And sure Rose lived to help good people but this? This sucked.

The next day the Ponds went home to their regular life and Rose was still there. While the Doctor continued good bying inside the Pond home a mailman came up to Rose.

“Dr. Tyler?” He asked.

“Sorry?”

“Are you Doctor Tyler?” She’d gotten her Doctorate but who would know that?

“Yeah.”

He handed her a dark blue envelope with an infinity 8 shape on it.

It was the TARDIS stationary. Inside was an invitation and a heart shape. And a... lipstick kiss?

She pocketed it and returned to the TARDIS.

Once they were in the Vortex she pulled out the invitation. Date time location coordinates. She had the perfect excuse to leave.

“I’ve got an invitation.” Rose waved it around.

“Me too!” He called. “Found it here on the console.”

He compared invitations. “Ours match same location everything.” He seemed delighted. “Except for this kiss mark and heart. That’s odd.”

He made a face.

“I’m number 1 though. You’re just all. Forever. Not even a real number.” 

“Gonna go then? Mysterious summons?” She asked.

“Of course. Got something better to do?”

“Let me get my jacket. Always come prepared.”

“Look at you. You’re like a Boy Scout!” He crowed.

She scowled. Joy. Compared to a boy by an Ex.

She came back out as a blonde bombshell. DD push-up bra. Small waist. A red embroidered peasant top with a bodice that accented it all and dark blue bellbottoms with red high tops. Her white point star heart pendant nestled between her breasts from a gold chain. Her hair was immaculately curled and her gold eyeshadow emphasized amber eyes.

She’d made Corin literally drool and stutter when she’d worn this outfit as herself. So of course she knew what the doctor liked. 

Was it petty to dress like this? Yes. But she needed the self esteem boost.

Her dark TARDIS blue jacket was zipped up just enough to show off her figure.

“I’m ready.” She called down the steps.

He double taked at her outfit. “You changed.”

“We don’t know what we’ll face out there. If it’s trouble I’d rather they not recognize my standard face.” She shrugged in part to emphasize her chest which he definitely glanced down at.

He swallowed deeply and kept staring at her. “Right.”

Where they found themselves was a diner in southern Utah.

No threats immediately presented themselves. So they ordered. 

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “Do you have sunchokes here? They re a native plant.”

“Indeed Sunchoke and sweet potato fries.” The dark skinned cashier said.

“I’ll take the biggest order of that you’ve got. And a horchata milkshake please.” She tried her best American accent as she bounced on her toes I. Delight. Chips! Since her youth Rose has branched our to different kinds of chips and had developed a taste for the nutty root vegetables that tasted like the best potatoes ever. Well unless Peru was involved.

“I’ll have a devil shake with a shot of banana.” The Doctor ordered. Chocolate banana soda. Predictable.

The Doctor paid.

“You paid.” Rose said.

“Of course I did.” He said as of that were normal of him. 

She stuffed her dollars in her pocket. She grabbed a pamphlet for a Lake Silencio. She scanned the location with her bracelet that was connected to her ships matrix. 

There was a Many Farms lake, Lake Powell and the San Juan River but no Lake Silence. She scanned the location provided and a bunch of artron and timeline messing around the location. There should be nothing there.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

She handed over the pamphlet. “This location shouldn’t be real. Someone has been messing with time at the coordinates. “

“Might be why we’re here.”

“Might be a trap.” She sang.

The sat in the red booth with her facing the door. Always keep an eye on your entrances.

She was dipping her chips into her shake when the doctor frowned.

“Problem?”

“Not enough fizz in this soda.” He whined. “ Be right back.”

He went into the back of the diner where the TARDIS was parked.

Soon after the Ponds came in. Followed by. No. River Song. Ugh. Good thing she wore this outfit.

Comparing she found herself pleased to note that she still looked better than River. Small comfort that if they kissed in front of her.

Well there went her appetite. Rose shoved her food away.

“The Doctor knew he was going to his death-“ River said to the Ponds. “He gathered the people he trusts most. I’m number two.”

And I’m forever. The one he trusts forever she realized. More than he trusts himself. The Tardises words came back to her in that moment

‘he needs you.’ 

Well damn. She couldn’t just let the Doctor die. Never could.

The Doctor chose that moment to return.  
He shook his fizzy straw at her then glanced at the others.

Her stomach turned as her Doctor flirted with River.

Then River slapped him.

“That was cold even by your standards.”

Bringing the Ex wasn’t cool but she was invited. Wait his standards? Was he not nice to River?

The Doctor wasn’t at all surprised by her slapping him for something he hadn’t done.

“I was invited too.” she pointed out standing up and waving her invitation.

River scowled at the invitation. “And you are?”

The Doctor seemed surprised. “This is R-“

“Akytior. You can all call me Aki though.” Rose cut in. “ Don’t know all of you well enough yet.”

The Doctor nodded.

Amy looked her up and down with puffy red eyes. “ What’s with the get up?” 

“In case of trouble I don’t want whatever it is tracking me through my standard shimmer.”

“By looking like a young Dolly Patton?” Amy said

“I don’t look like her.” Rose objected.

She glanced at Rory to find him staring at her chest before blinking.

River glanced at their surrounding. “Back to the TARDIS.”

It was an order. Everyone else listened. Oh no that’s not how this dynamic was going to work.

Rose pocketed a few more local pamphlets before glancing up to see something hideous tall and gray.

Click.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off BIG Thanks are in order to **TugBoatG for betaing this mess! She is awesome!**
> 
> It’s over 5,000 words this time so that was extra generous of her.
> 
> This finishes off Impossible Astronaut and into Day of the Moon. It will not be an exact or close retelling with Rose just around.
> 
> I’d love to hear what you think of it good or bad.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Chapter 10

Rose rubbed her temples as she entered the TARDIS only to find she had her sonic glasses on. That was weird. When did she put her sunglasses on, and why in the middle of a diner?

“Is everyone cross with me, Rory?” The Doctor asked.

Rose patted Rory on the back as he went downstairs. The recording from the tracker she added to his back should upload to her glasses soon enough. With the Doctor's life, she would leave nothing to chance.

She could see the companions all downstairs through the glass floor. No doubt talking more about the future Doctor they had seen. Who evidence suggested had died. Her brain refused to process that.

Instead, she just went up to the Doctor to hug him tightly at the console.

“Oh, lovely. Someone isn’t cross with me.” He hugged her back before releasing.

“I didn’t say that.” Rose retreated to her side of the console. “Looked like you needed a hug is all.”

Course it wasn’t his fault he didn’t love her anymore, but it certainly didn’t endear her to him.

“They’re keeping secrets from me.” He groused.

“Yeah, that’s usually your job.” Rose teased.

A real smile graced his lips for a moment.

“Shut up.” He said.

He left to complain while she brought up her glasses data feed.

To find images of a 7 foot tall alien with no mouth to speak of. Not sure how he ate. Did they eat sunshine? Electricity crackled from its skin. Ah. It fed on electricity?

_“You will not interfere again.” The alien’s telepathic order came back as she saw its image again._

Her headache would indicate attempted hypnosis. Living on Gallifrey with Corin had led to very strong telepathic shields as a matter of survival. Besides, it clearly didn't know her if it thought she was capable of not interfering. 

Were these the creatures that had killed her beloved? 

She didn’t recognize them. They didn’t look natural. Like something cobbled together rather than evolved.

Rose glanced up as the others returned. 

What had she been doing?

She glanced back at her glass projection.

The Hell. That was twice now she hadn’t remembered meeting the memorable aliens. 

Did some hypnosis get through? Some sort of brain damage or memory ray?

She used this TARDISs matrix to search up the aliens but it only brought up the nearest possibilities.

She blocked out the Doctor’s flirting.

“Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that.”

That was cold. He was treating his friends like enemies. He was scared.

She glanced at her nails- ah. She’d scratched a bit of gray flesh off. She fed the genetic material to be analyzed and logged out.

She liked Amy, but she didn’t trust any of them with his life.

“Love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Really?” The Doctor said to River.

He didn’t trust her, and despite the flirting, there was disgust in his voice.

“Why are you in jail, River? Who did you kill?”

Well, River was turning out to be not at all the Doctor’s type. This is who he would marry?

“Fish fingers and custard.” Rose hadn’t a clue what that was about. More things about his life she didn’t know. She knew this Doctor was more volatile than others.

After he agreed, she interjected. “A moment Doctor?” She tilted her head towards a door off the console.

He followed and closed the door. “What is this all about?” He sounded angry.

He doesn’t trust me as much anymore, either. Her heart clinched.

“There were aliens at that cafe. Threatening ones who can use their telepathy to make you immediately forget them. This isn’t straight forward Daleks.” She crossed her arms. “Why are we following River who you clearly don’t trust-“

“She’s saved my life before.” He said.

“Which doesn’t mean you have to be glued at the hip.” She kept as much resentment from her voice as she could manage.

“It’s my life.” He insisted. Right. No claim on him.

“You’re on your last body; you can’t be taking risks like this-“ Rose argued.

“If you’re scared, you don’t have to come.”

“I’m not scared for me. I don’t bloody care if I die- it’s you I’m worried about!” She yelled.

He stared at her dumbstruck. “What?” 

Rose sighed in frustration. Why was it really so hard for him to believe that people worried about him? She always had.

“I’ve lost everything. I’ve no reason to keep on.” Rose explained. “But you have a causality loop to finish.”

“There is always a reason to keep on living.” He sounded personally injured by her words. Right. Great. He felt responsible for keeping his Ex alive.

She squinted to keep the tears at bay.

“That’s not even the point. If this gets bad enough, I’m getting you out.” Rose handed him a tiny earpiece.

“I’m not worth it,” he objected, but put it in.

“I’ve lost enough people. I’m not losing you, too.” There were tears in her voice. She cleared her throat. Her hands were shaking.

He grabbed her hands to draw her into a hug. 

“You’re all I’ve got of home. Even if you never forgive me, I’m not letting you die either.” His voice cracked.

Forgive him for moving on he meant. She had to but she wasn’t there yet. Rose knew she was too selfish for that.

“Maybe someday I could forgive you, but it’s still too raw for me.” Rose's laugh was bitter. “All these years and it’s still too much.”

“You and me. We’ve got nothing but time.” He cupped her face with his hand. His mind hummed around hers. Warm and safe. Even with River, how could she leave this feeling? 

“Together then?” Rose could do partners. She couldn’t do damsel to be saved anymore. Couldn’t do lies.

He looked down and then nodded

“Keep me updated on what you find.”

The others stated at them as the Doctor led Rose out of the room by the hand.

Once they reached the console he clapped his hands. “Right. Where were we?”

“Keeping secrets are we?” River asked.

“Oh. Always.” The Doctor answered. ”Not like you don’t have something big you and the Ponds are hiding from me.”

Rose kept typing at the console as the others researched Canton Delaware the third.

The matrix said they were hybrids. An experiment gone right for The Rani. But was she the one controlling them? She wasn’t sure she could tell him the Rani was probably still alive.

Ok. So who was using them? They had the feel of minions not the big bad.

She needed a scanner. Rose typed a text to voice message for the Doctor.

‘Need a scanner for this DNA.’

They needed to know if the aliens were near instead of stumbling in.

“On it.” He said aloud.

River was looking between the two of them.

“He lets you drive?”

“I’ve piloted loads of TARDISes, haven’t I, love?” Rose stroked the console.

The ship made a happy noise.

River was frustrated. Good. It was immature to feel that way, but at least she wasn’t sticking her tongue out.

“Who are you?” River demanded.

When she didn’t answer River repeated the question to the Doctor. Rose's stomach tensed. How would he introduce her, since obviously she wasn’t in the Doctor’s future if River didn’t know her?

“Co-pilot. Nearly as old as me.” He answered.  
Eh. Not the worst description.

“Maybe older. I lost count around 700.” Rose added.

“Looking good for your age.” River said.

“Thanks. Wish I looked older.” Rose flipped another switch.

The Doctor handed her the scanner.

“Thanks.” Rose’s voice was clipped.

She ignored River being condescending to the Doctor. Was River as bad as she thought, or was her jealousy coloring the experience?

Rose followed the Doctor out the cloaked door into the Oval Office and shut the door.

“Greetings Gentleman! This is my partner, the Doctor, from Unit.”- it was never a good idea to startle politicians in their strongholds.

“And my assistant-“ the Doctor mimed big breasts and then thought better of it- “Dolly.”

Ugh. Not that again.

“Dolly and Doctor.” Corin would have loved the alliteration.

They were Immediately surrounded by guns. There was no place she could stand to protect him from all their fire, so she resorted to be being distracting by stretching seductively and crossing her knees to emphasize her hourglass figure. It wasn’t her preferred method, but it was all she had without weapons. 

“One minute to guns in the face.” She complained as she raised her hands up.

“I’ve had worse.” The Doctor said.

“Couldn’t have put us in a hallway and requested audience?” She asked.

She could see his face twitch when he conceded that would have been the better idea.

“Shut up.”

“What are you doing here?” Nixon demanded from his wall of guards.

The Doctor flashed his unit badge. “Head scientific Advisor to The United Intelligence Taskforce, here to help.”

“How?” A soldier asked.

“Classified technology. We specialize in the weird stuff.” Rose added.

The guns lowered slightly.

The Doctor was back in his element as the center of attention. There was a little girl the aliens were after. Good, another innocent to save. The Doctor didn’t need her help with that.

She pulled out her alien tracker. Five of them were in the White House. Some rather close, but none in the room.

She held up five fingers to indicate how many there were to the Doctor. He nodded and continued rambling.

Maybe that was it. He knew it was her, but he hadn’t smiled a single Rose Tyler special smile. Not even once. He hadn’t asked for her input. It hurt. Had the Doctor who left her behind gotten over her so quick?

Bet River helped. Were they lovers yet? Her faced burned. and she scowled at the nearby soldiers.

She needed to be more mature than this. This wasn’t Sarah-Jane all over again. She hadn’t been jealous of the Ponds.

Eventually he directed her back to the TARDIS.

“You’re out of sorts.” The Doctor whispered as he opened the door.

“I’m fine.” She said automatically.

He rolled his eyes and grunted.

“There are bound to be more of these mutants where the girl is.” She changed the subject before he could lecture her on playing nicely.

“Figure out what they were?” He asked.

“Mutants. They were made to be as they are by a mad scientist, so someone’s minions now.” Rose closed the door and kept her eyes on the floor.

“Don’t suppose they’re cute and yellow genderless. That was a fun movie.” The Doctor said.

“No such luck.”

“Who now?” Amy asked.

“There are some nasty aliens with mind altering powers following us.” Rose said without glancing at her. If she could pretend River wasn’t there, this could be easier.

She flipped the right switches to project a hologram of their nemesis.

“Look Doctor- no eyebrows; just like you.” River said.

Ugh. What was her thing with insulting him?

“Fun,” The Doctor didn’t defend himself. “ No mouths or ears so they must communicate mostly telepathically.”

“It’s the amnesia I’m most concerned about. An energy shield could protect from the electric attacks.” Rose said.

“I think I saw one at the lake.” Amy said.

Rose noted that for later. Dead Doctor and the lake with temporal disturbances.

“So do the ugly things have any weaknesses.” Rory asked.

“Good question Rory.” The Doctor said.

“Call me a traditionalist, but we could just shoot them,” River said.

“Shoot something you only remember is there when directly looking at them? That’s short-sighted,” Rose objected snidely.

The Doctor snorted at her pin which got him a glare from River. He cowered. “We could see if water would short circuit them.” 

“ Or a telepathic EMP.” Rose added. “Some worlds keep them to keep out some telepathic species.”

The Doctor grimaced. “I don’t fancy the headache.”

Rose sighed. “There are shields for that.”

“Or we could just shoot them,” River said, showing off her blaster.

“Is that your solution for everything?“ Rose glared at River.

“Ladies, no need to fight,” the Doctor interrupted. “ I’ll make something so we will remember them. That is step one.”

“Yes, dear.” River swaggered over to the Doctor and kissed his check while looking straight at Rose in challenge.

Rose wanted to rip her eyes out.

“I’ll see what else I can find.” She gritted her teeth and looked back down at the console.

Can’t kill her. She’s going to save the Doctor so you can have that life with Corin. Besides, she’s going to burn to death.

While she and the Doctor worked, the Ponds went back to their room.

River pretended to help the Doctor, but Rose was pretty sure she was only there so Rose wouldn’t be alone with the Doctor. 

“Looks like they were once part of a religious order and became known as The Silence later on.”

The Doctor nodded as he continued to solder a bit of metal to his device.

River was sorting through his bits and bobs box.  
“Sweetie, has anyone ever told you you’re a bit of a hoarder?”

Rose scowled her way. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, but River wasn’t nice to the Doctor. He deserved someone nice. Also wasn’t ‘sweetie’ more something you’d call a dog? ‘Aren’t you a sweet boy? Yes, you are!’ Or a kid.

“You, apparently.” The Doctor said absentmindedly.

“You’re from the future; what can you tell us about them?” Rose asked River.

“Sorry, Spoilers.” River said.

“So basically you’re going to sit around while the grown-ups handle it,” Rose deadpanned. “Useless, you are.”

“I’m handy with a gun.” River spun her blaster on her finger.

“As you keep saying.” How was the Doctor ok with River carrying a gun all the time? “But the Doctor hates guns.”

“Not with me,” River preened.

The Doctor moved his sonic to behind his ear.

“River, dear.”

River put her blaster away. “Yes, sweetie?”

The pet names were gross.

“Go get the Ponds.” River sulked away.

Hah. Rose waved goodbye to her opponent.

“Aki?”

No pet name for her.

“Yeah?”

“Grab five telepathic dampeners for us. I’m sure the TARDIS will show you where they are.”

“Sure.” If he wanted to be alone he could have just said so.

///

Ah, blessed peace and quiet.

“Women!” He rubbed his face.

The Doctor wasn’t sure why Romana going as ‘Aki’ was so opposed to River. River was always jealous of anyone not the Ponds, but Aki hadn’t shown any antagonism to anyone till now.

River was just going to have to get used to Aki being a permanent part of the crew.

River had proven useful in a fight. Her speed to resort to violence probably didn’t sit well with Aki but flirting was fun. He knew he should be falling for her, but he wasn’t attached. His heart refused to get attached to her and just wasn’t feeling what he should be feeling. He felt a bit guilty about that. 

Maybe the problem was he had watched her die and he only saw her when she showed up, or having no reason to trust her. Lies weren’t the sort of thing that belonged in any kind of relationship and they both had to tell so many. He couldn’t say, ‘ Yeah. I saw you die, so it’s weirded me out, and your time in jail for murder of a good man doesn’t lend me to trusting you.’ It was such work to keep up the facade so he didn’t hurt her feelings.

What was weird was, when in a room with both women, he found himself strangely wistful about his brother's widow being off-limits. Or maybe because she’d just come back into his life, it was still new and exciting to have her around. He didn’t have to lie about a thing to ‘Aki’. He didn’t have to pretend to be humanish or follow their customs.

‘Aki’ returned first.

“Need help calibrating the scanners?” she asked.

“Nope. Finished that while you were gone.”

When it was just ‘Aki,’ there wasn’t any drama. River was always drama, which could be fun for a while... before it got tiring.

“I’ll just activate the dampener shields with the TARDIS.” She set the tinfoil-looking hats down on the console. “It will increase our telepathic protection so long as we are within a mile of the TARDIS.”

“Where does it say that?”

She handed over the electronic version of the TARDIS manual. “Section 45.b. Came in useful with the kids. Oh, I memorized all the safety features and options.”

“You had kids?” He had had nieces and nephews?

She cleared her throat and nodded, then rubbed her eyes.

She had all her shields up, but he could feel her telepathic presence at the edges of his senses. That must be it. He must be starved for any telepathic connection.

She’d clearly lost her kids, too. Kids he’d never gotten to know. Were they like his brother or her more? Clearly, they’d been smart. Had they entered the Academy? 

Yet, here she was being nice while his self-proclaimed girlfriend would have taken cheap shots at him for not having the TARDIS manual memorized.

‘Aki’ handed out the telepathic dampeners to the group.

“A tinfoil hat is supposed to protect my mind?” Amy objected.

“It’s not tinfoil,” he lectured, and went on about its real qualities and how advanced it was. “How is something supposed to protect your mind if it’s not covering your brain Amy? Think it through.”

Amy seemed calmer than before. Good good.

He injected recording trackers that would tell him how many of these aliens were about and where into his companions palms, in case the hats didn’t work.

“We need Canton,” River said.

“Why’s that?” The Doctor asked with a frown.

“He got an invitation.”

The Doctor grumbled and tracked the fellow down in the rest room of the White House.

“You! In here, now!”

“Where did that come from?” Canton asked. He asked too many questions, and the Doctor hated breaking people in.

Before he could assign the task of explaining, ‘Aki‘ greeted Canton.

“Welcome soldier, This ship travels in space and time, and it’s bigger inside than out. “ Aki explained. “And that’s probably going to be the most normal part of this trip, so good luck.”

“How long has The UN had this?” he asked.

“It’s on lend. Also, there are aliens who might be trying to kill us. Don’t act like they’re on holiday.” Aki acted like The Brigidier during briefing. Of course, this had to be easier than wrangling the Timelord Council. “Stick with me and you’ll probably live.”

“Right.” Canton adjusted from his culture shock fairly quickly.

The Doctor opened the doors, “Geronimo!”

They followed him into an abandoned warehouse.

//

“I’m quite a screamer; there’s a spoiler for you, Doctor.” River flirted as she headed down a manhole.

The Doctor blushed and grinned.

Ugh. Well, at least they weren’t lovers yet. Gods she needed to get away from those two.

“Sorry. The Silence are down in the pipes. 10 down there. Another twenty in this building, and outside.” Rose leaned against the TARDIS. 

“So we spread out then,” Canton said.

The Doctor waved his sonic. “Bio readings this way.”

When Amy tried to shoot the girl, Rose knocked the gun down to shoot the floor.

“Canton! With me!” Rose ran after the girl as the Doctor dealt with the domestics.

It felt good to be running again. Unfortunately, the Silence surrounded them. Canton got a few shots out before they destroyed his gun. She tried the water gun, which only annoyed them.

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to be brave,” Rose told the girl.

“Don’t let them take me again!” The girl cried.

There weren’t any of the aliens outside the building at the moment. 

“Cover me!” Rose said.

Rose hoisted the girl on her shoulders and shoved her through the broken windows.

She shot her skin irritant gun at the Silence’s eyes before using a smoke bomb to attempt to run. If nothing else she could lead them away from the girl.

///

They couldn’t find Romana after the girl ran off. He had been busy trying to figure out when Amy started being okay with killing children and why she thought it would save his life. 

“She led them away so I could escape,” Canton explained.

“And you just abandoned her?” The Doctor demanded.

“We need to figure out how many there are of these aliens,” River said.

He barely heard her. He’d finally had one of his own back, only to be stolen away. They could have killed her already. He could be the last of his kind again. And she’d never been able to forgive him, even though that was a big ask when he was responsible for the death of their people including her whole family.

“No. We are not doing anything until she’s back safe with the TARDIS! Do. You. Understand?!” He seethed.

“You’re being irrational. The whole planet is at stake!” River yelled back.

His ninth self brought up the image of Downing Street. 

I could save the world but lose you.

“I’ve saved the world enough times. And you know what? Earth will always need saving.” He gestured about frantically. “But I will never abandon those I love to die just because it’s inconvenient.”

“Love?” River looked like he’d punched her.

“She is more important than you could possibly imagine.” He looked around him as if, just by looking, she’d show up and tease him for his concern.

“Trackers.” Rory said.

“What?” The Doctor stopped to look at him.

“We are all wearing trackers to count the aliens.” Rory’s device had counted 20 recordings of encounters with the aliens.

“That data will prove invaluable on the TARDIS to stop them,” River said.

“Can’t we just track her using the tracker?” Amy said, and her husband pointed to her as if that had been his point all along.

“I didn’t develop it for that.” The Doctor scratched his head. “But I probably could. Oh, Rory, you’re a genius!”

The Doctor gave Rory a big kiss on his head.

“I’m a genius,” Rory told his wife.

“Guess your face isn’t so stupid after all,” Amy said with a grin.

That was the most roundabout compliment he had heard in centuries.

“Back to the ship!”

Once inside, they all downloaded their data to the console for analysis. Data analysis was on Aki’s side of the console.

His heart squeezed. He set up an algorithm to find any of his trackers that was outside the ship. Currently that was only her. He shouldn’t have needed Rory to point it out.

‘Searching for The Other.’ The screen read in swirling Gallifreyan. This wasn’t the first time the ship had referred to her that way.

Weird, but he had bigger problems.

“Okay, Ponds, you can stay here. I’ll be right back.” They would probably still come, but hopefully far enough back to be safer from the aliens.

“I’ll protect your exit strategy,” Canton said.

“You’re hardly going alone,” River said, gun out. “How do you plan on stopping them?”

He held up his sonic and opened the door.

“I’m sure they’ll all be terrified as you assemble a cabinet at them,” River remarked.

“That’s really rude,” he objected.

//

And here she was tied to a metal bed while the Doctor was off flirting with another woman. Oh this brought all the worst flashbacks.

This time she was alone. She always ended up alone. Another replaceable woman. No doubt River was accomplished. A bad girl. Rose apparently was never bad enough. Oh no, Rose, you’re too good to be sullied by me. Sit there and be inspirational while I kiss someone else. When she’d been a companion she had never truly been treated like a partner, not really. No, The Doctor knew best. Time to trick Rose to keep her alive and untouchable. Never good enough to fight at his side when it counted. Trusted with everything but reality. 

It was important to this Doctor that she stay alive, even if she didn’t want to or she was just tired. Live, Rose, and be miserably alone. Yes, that’s what he wanted for her. Alive to assuage guilt but nothing more than that.

She banged her head back on the table.

No distractions, just too much time to think. This was the worst.

Rose could handle fast-paced danger. The adrenaline rush was a bit of a thrill. It was the long waiting with no control over the outcome that she couldn’t stand. Like being told her whole young life that she’d end up working in a shop, dealing with condescending customers who thought you were lucky to be in their presence and entitled to treat you like shit. It was a terrifying future she had no power to change. 

No scholarships. Even if there had been, her mother would never have allowed her to gain airs and graces by becoming a police officer or office worker.

It’s the reason she ran off with Jimmy. She was desperate for a life that took her away from the estates and her bleak, preordained future. Even if it had only been a chance, she was willing to go through the pain of it just to get her out of London and made her feel not-trapped for at least a little while. 

Mickey could handle the long waiting and dull expectations where she couldn’t. At first, he couldn’t handle present danger.

Corin and every version of the Doctor she’d ever met were like her. He’d choose to be executed immediately rather than wait an uncontrollable amount of time in a cell with the same routine every day.

She was never sure if Rassilon knew this, but Corin knew as soon as they’d ended the Rassilon Games in the Death Zone on past Gallifrey that Rassilon would be responsible for his death. He just didn’t know when or where. He figured it would be near the looms from the legends of The Other’s death. He spent 300 years on edge despite being home during a time when his planet was still beautiful.

He never guessed it would occur after Rassilon proposed to bond with her. Proposed despite her being bonded already.

Rassilon has seen her power and wanted to control it himself. Wanted the adoration of the people through her. It was never about love.

No. He’d killed her husband and bond mate in front of her. Attacked her as soon as the bond broke at Corin's death. A crime unimaginable to any telepathic species. Trying to force a bond on another.

Rassilon had woken the eternal wolf inside of her. A raging beast of time and pure energy.

She watched him die- each time more painful than the rest, while his guards did nothing.

She tore him apart and lost herself. But he was lucky. His death didn’t linger.

And here the lucky couple came in, flirting.

Flirting as they shot at her captors.

“Just kill me now.” 

River was an unbelievably good shot. She seemed to enjoy the killing more than any of the Doctor’s other companions. Did he really find that sexy?

“Is this really important flirting? Because I think I should be higher on the list right now.” Rose bit out with venom.

“A thank you would be nice.” The Doctor called, then turned back to the Silence. “Like I said. My naughty friend here will kill the first 7 of you so how about first, you tell me about the little girl. Who is she? Why is she important? What's she for?“

“Oh, did you get caught?” River was arched into his back preening as she pointed her gun at the Silence. River looked at her like she was this small pathetic thing that they happened upon while on a date. Inconsequential. Not even a little threat. She was his partner from now on. No need for Rose to watch his back.

“You can kill me now.” She told the Silence. It would be a dumb way to die. Not heroic at all, but at least she wouldn’t be tortured like this anymore.

And she was crying. Make it stop! Last thing she needed was to look as pathetic as she felt at the moment. No. She was a Tyler. Made of stronger stuff than that. Rose rubbed her eyes against her shoulders and held her head high.

Why did she think her presence would at least make him tone the flirting down? You’re the Ex, remember. 

And that’s when Jack showed up.

He held up the 5th invitation. Relief flooded her.

“I love you, Jack!”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Jack cheered.

“Now just kill me, please.”

“No can do, love.” Jack said as he undid her restraints. 

“Will you stop asking people to kill you?” The Doctor groused.

“I can make you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven, later,” Jack promised.

“It’s been awhile since I last got laid.” Rose admitted. “Not the worst way to go, but not how I planned.”

Jack chuckled, pulling her against him.

“But it was good right?” The Doctor said. He looked around when the others were aghast at him.

He scratched his head. “You know, quality. We’ve got a reputation to uphold, us Lungbarrows.”

Rose scowled at him. Holding her fist tight to keep from slapping him.

“I’m not going to advertise for you.” Rose pushed the Doctor away from her. She knew the oncoming wolf shone in her eyes and he backed off.

“The Hell, Doctor?” Amy came to her defense.

“Wait. Aki’s your Ex? When was that going to come up?” Rory asked.

River was pale. Looked likely to slap the Doctor again. Oh. Lovely. So not only was she not in his future, but he didn’t even speak of her. Had forgotten.

“Oh, everyone’s cross at me again.” He jiggled his head. “But Jack can go on as long as he wants.”

“I am long.” Jack walked backwards as he provided cover fire with River. “But a gentleman.”

“So now, Jack’s the appropriate one?” The Doctor said.

“ I can confirm that.” River flirted at Jack. “Although he was only a gentleman when I wanted him to be.”

The Doctor gaped. “You too? Is there anyone I know you haven’t slept with, Jack?” The Doctor glanced back at them as he led the way to freedom.

Amy raised her hand.

“You Rory?” The Doctor said.

“What? No. I thought it was obvious I’m a one person man.” Rory objected, as he wrapped his arm around his wife.

“To be fair, neither have I, yet. Heard the legends, though.” Rose added.

“All true, ladies and gentlemen. I’m very experienced,” Jack said. “But I’ve spent thousands of years wanting to pleasure you.”

Jack looked directly at Rose.

Oh. He was serious. This wasn’t just his usual flirting when they met up.

Had he lost someone recently? It was tempting, but she didn’t want River’s seconds.

What did the Doctor see in this woman, anyway? The Doctor had always been very romantically possessive. He didn’t share.

The Doctor grabbed her hand away from Jack, but she twisted her hand free.

“Don’t touch me.” She was still angry with him. If she stayed right now, she’d say things she couldn’t take back.

As often was the case, the Doctor looked like he hadn’t a clue what he’d done wrong. He looked hurt.

“I came to help,” he pleaded.

Even if he had, it was all too much right now with River touching his shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here, Jack.”


	11. Day of the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to TugBoatG for beta reading this for me!
> 
> This chapter differs from Day of the Moon quite a bit, but that is better than reading something you’ve already watched right? River’s motivations are also a bit different because of the end of the chapter and my own ideas on what the Silence will fall and attacking the Doctor is all about. 
> 
> Also I’m stressed which means I need to keep busy so I’m stress writing a lot. Weird but true. I’m part way through writing the next chapter which should be out next week.
> 
> As always your comments keep me writing. I’d love to know what you make of it.

Chapter 11

Everything had gone to shit since River showed up.

Now Romana, going as Aki for gods knows why, was off alone with Jack.

It must be habit by now to resent Jack for going off with his friends. Jack wasn’t the sort to force himself on others, but his 51st century pheromones were unnaturally convincing.

When he had been forced to think about Jack and River together it had been foul, but he hadn’t been that jealous about it. He obviously would be someday. 

No, for whatever reason, it was the thought of Jack with Aki that had him seeing red. It was irrational, and worse, instinctual, but he couldn’t pinpoint why his body reacted this way, quite against his mind’s orders. Was his body just that excited to get any Time Lady pheromones, in some backward attempt to physically propagate a dead species? 

He wasn’t attracted to Romana. She’d been a good friend he’d considered marrying, once, since Romana was the only time lady who liked him, even a little. He had hoped she might take pity on his unhoused, no-advantage self. Romana had chosen wisely. Timelord marriages were political affairs where genetic material was loomed and edited, and parents raised their children for the 8 years they were home. A short term contract with no physical side save handholding. 

She was literally a sister to him now, so it couldn’t be that. He hadn’t found himself this territorial since- well, never mind when. 

“The planet wide scanner indicates there are hundreds of thousands of these creatures focused on capitols, military bases, and religious sites,” Aki said.

“How long have they been here?” Rory asked.

He shifted them back 100 years for a baseline.  
“How about now? 1911.”

Aki did the scan again.”Same, only slightly less of them.”

Jack cursed.” I was here that whole time, and I don’t remember them.”

“They use post-hypnotic suggestion and amnesia once you stop looking at them.” They would make the ultimate spies, and who knew how many human sleeper cells there now were. He shuddered.

“So they’re controlling us,” Canton said.

“But why?” Amy asked.

“Nothing good.” Jack shook his head.

“I’d almost think we ended up in some parallel world, or this is a new change to the timelines,” Aki grimaced.

“Can this day get any-“ The Doctor was interrupted by Aki.

“Shut up! Last thing we need today is for you to go tempting fate,” Aki said.

“No such thing as fate,” Rory argued.

“Can’t we just figure out when they arrived and stop them then?” Amy shouted over the din.

“Time travel doesn’t work like that, “ River said. “We became a part of established events when we entered 1969.”

“Convenient for the Silence that someone forced me to land there instead of when it would have been easier.” The Doctor glared at River but kept his voice deceptively even.

“Are you really blaming me for this?” River growled. “You’re the one who sent the invitations in the first place, and, like always, you are who you trust the most.”

He was smart enough not to point out that Aki was apparently who he trusted most, in that case.

“So,” Aki clapped her hands to get their attention and used her Presidential voice. “We have two missions:  
1\. Figure out the Silence’s weaknesses and how to end their occupation of the planet and  
2\. Find the girl, ask her what she knows, and return her to her family.”

“We could save this girl together,” Jack said, gesturing at Aki. “And the rest of you can work on the other stuff.”

“Jack, your Torchwood training would be valuable in saving the planet,” River argued.

He shook his head. “I don’t do those kinds of missions anymore. Not since my grandson.”

“You can’t go off on your own- I just saved you from these monsters. I don’t have time to do it again.” The Doctor argued.

“I won’t be alone; I’ve got Jack back. We make a good team,” Aki argued.

“How do you two even know each other?” The Doctor asked.

Jack laughed. “You haven’t figured it out yet? The shimmer still works for you?”

That rankled- Jack wasn’t allowed to be the superior one. He pulled off his bow tie to keep his hands from flailing around and giving his lie away.

“Of course I’ve figured it out. Call me Sherlock.”

Jack kissed Aki on the lips after grabbing her bum. She squealed.

A raging fire filled his veins and ears. He wanted to rip him off of her, but Romana was a grown up. Last time he’d tried to get close to her, she’d glared at him. He settled for slapping his thighs with his fists.

Jack grinned back wolfishly at him. “Always wanted to do that.”

“There is no PDA on this TARDIS! That’s just rude, that is.”

Aki set the coordinates back to their last known spot and pulled the lever.

“Rule One,” River said to the Ponds.

Aki batted Jack away. “I get it. You’ve been wanting to do that for ages- but still. Consent.” Her eyebrow raised.

“I had to test a theory.” Jack imitated the Doctor’s accent.

“By insulting the memory of her husband? I know fidelity isn’t your thing, Jack, but consent had better be.” The Doctor let his tone be condescending in a way only a Time Lord’s could.

“Jealous, are we?” Jack said.

“You don’t get to tell me who I’m with. You’re not him. Remember?” Aki bit out.

“You won’t be able to save the girl if you don’t know the Silence’s weakness.” The Doctor said, ignoring what River had said.

Luckily he hadn’t told Aki the new rule one— that he lies.

“I’ll stoop to using a staser on stun.” Aki was stubborn. 

He walked as close to her as he dared and spoke in Gallifreyan. “Why are you so eager to abandon me after signing on?”

She looked down with shame. “I-“ she began in Gallifreyan. “ You are acting like Braxiatel back in his Collection days.”

He could not think of a worse insult.

“Don’t say that!” The Doctor objected.

“It’s amazing anyone is staying around when you treat them like things to be collected! Is this who you are now?”

“You’re too good to have gotten caught today,” He added. “Emotions clouding your judgement?”

She scowled at him for that.

She headed for the door with Jack following.

He’d take that as a yes.

“Good luck, Irving Braxitel,” She said in English.

“I am not-“ he began.

“Is that your real name? Irving Braxitel?” Amy acted excited.

Aki laughed through the doors.

“No!” How had things gotten so out of hand again? All he’d wanted to do was get her to stay, and all he was accomplishing was pushing her farther away.

“Is it always like this?” Canton asked.

“Not always. Usually there is more weird than drama, but he did come out of a cake once,” Rory said.

//

The next few months involved tracking down Silence and trying to badger details out of them.

River often tried to kiss him. Which should be fine, but it wasn’t.

“ Aki would know just the right thing to say, you know.”

“Lovely, more of this then.” River groused. “Practically perfect in every way Ms. Poppins.”

“She’s great with children and has bigger on the Inside everything, but I don’t think she’s ever been a governess.” The Doctor said.

“Romantic view of San Francisco and he wants to talk about his Ex.” River said. “Lucky me.”

“You’re there one in a relationship with Jack. Who am I to get between the happy couple?” The Doctor said as they broke into Berkeley’s labs.

“Hardly a relationship. It’s just sex.” River countered as she scanned for the Silence. ”A girl has got needs, and Jack is quite adept at fulfilling them.”

From the window they could see several couples having sex in the bushes. Summer of Love.

How was he going to fall in love with someone with no idea of romantic commitment, and a short-lived human to boot? If he was going to do that there had already been the perfect choice of human. How could he marry her to keep the time loop going? He knew humans in the 51st century were often like this, but as a Timelord, oaths such as marriage and courtship were a matter of honor.

His first wife had been a love match to a much older woman. Dazzlingly confident and beautiful and fun. He had never deserved her patience as a young lad of 150. Eventually, she must have noticed too. 

After their three kids were at the Academy, she had left him with some excuse about putting him in danger. Said she’d see him again someday. Only to find out later she was a half-breed shabogan with a rap sheet. He’d been the laughing stock of the Timelords to be so fooled. So many had said that not even a shabogan half-breed wanted him. That clearly there was something innately flawed in him, as his cousins had always said.

She had kept her secrets, but that came with the extremely long lived. He somehow had just ignored the red flags and married someone his family hadn’t approved of on the coast of Their children had only been allowed to stay at the Academy because of some strings Braxitel had pulled. His children had hated him for it. For driving their mother away. For ruining their place in society. 

He must be attracted to women with commitment issues. Perhaps it was his fate to love more than he’d ever be loved in return.

He shook his head to snap out of it.

“Sorry, not feeling that love and commitment vibe as you fuck my friends.” He tried to keep his voice down.

“You don’t put out.” River argued.

“I hardly know you, whatever you aren’t me in my future, for one. You pretend like we’re in a committed relationship, yet flaunt your singleness. It’s not exactly encouraging. I’m as much a one woman man as Rory.”

“And here you go; trying to control me.” River groused while rolling her eyes.

“Let’s just focus on saving the world,eh?”

Berkeley was doing nuclear weapon research and was much easier to get into than Livermore labs or other Manhattan project sites. They would also test LSD on people here. Mind control and nuclear weapons would be right up the Silence’s alley.

He went through files. It was dull, but important- much like his recent time with River. He was learning all sorts of things he didn’t want to know

He really wished Aki were here instead. Who knows what she was getting up to with Jack.

____

“Don’t know why you only stun them.” Jack said.

“I try to keep the murder to a minimum.” Rose called from her spot as they trailed the little girl in New York.

“Yeah, but then they can pop right back up at inconvenient moments.” Jack took another one down. The Silence were stalking the girl they claimed they raised.

They had already learned that she was physically stronger than a human. Probably just as much an experiment as they were. Just less ugly.

Once the coast was clear, she approached the skittish girl. They had agreed that she was the less threatening one.

“Hello! I’m Marion. Would you like some chips? Got a burger too. No strings attached.” Rose took a bite of the burger and a fry to prove they weren't poisoned before she placed the bag on the ground and backed away.

“You’re the woman from the warehouse.” The girl said.

“Yup. Sorry I wasn’t able to free you then. Got transport now. Can take you wherever home is.”

“Why would you do that?” The girl took a bite of food but kept her suspicious glare on her.

“I’m a mum, “ Rose shrugged. “Can’t not mother. I’d go crazy if my children were in danger.”

The girl looked down. “Not all mothers are like that.”

“No. But I am.” Rose spun the shimmer bracelet around on a finger.

“What’s that?” The girl predictably asked.

“Oh this? It makes people look different so nasty monsters can’t find them.”

“They’ll always find me. I’ve run away 7 times already.” The girl wiped her hands on her dress and shoved fries into her mouth.

“What’s your name? Brave girl like you must have a good one.”

“Mels.”

It might not have been her real name, but it was better than referring to her as ‘girl’ all the time.

“I am very, very good at running away. Used to get paid to rescue people. Think you’re brave enough to give it one last go, Mels?” Rose handed the bracelet in Mels direction.

Mels grabbed it. “Don’t see how it could be much worse with you.”

“That’s the spirit,” Rose said. “Don’t suppose you know why they’re after you?”

“They think I’m a weapon.”

They entered the Doctor’s ship, and Mels looked around suspiciously.

“This is yours?” Mels asked.

“Yup.” Rose lied smoothly. Although the ship had claimed her as its own.

Jack kept an eye on Mels while she scanned the girl for trackers and weapons.

They deactivated the tracker and removed it from her hand, then sent her to take a bath and get new, clean clothes.

“So. Do you happen to know when you were born, and to who?”

Mels pulled out a dirty crumpled picture of a woman with a baby.

“Is that?” Jack asked.

“Looks like it. We just need a when.”

“We can’t just keep visiting and asking if they’ve lost a child yet.”

“No. But they and the Doctor can’t know about this yet.” Rose said while scanning the species of the girl.

“Do you think she loved me?” Mels asked brokenly.

Ah. Mels had seen her mother try to shoot her to death. 

“She didn’t know who you were at the time, Mels. She doesn’t have kids yet.”

“But she was willing to shoot me still.” Mels said.

“Is it alright if I hug you?” Rose asked.

Mels nodded, so she hugged her.

The scan completed with a beep.

Rose went to check it. It said part human, part Timelord. Either the Rani had used a sample to make a hybrid or the Doctor and Amy... No! No. 

She couldn’t believe that he would impregnate a married woman. He wasn’t the one night stand type. Telepathic species tended not to be. The best sex involved allowing someone inside your mind, which required more trust than a hookup afforded. Someone could destroy your mind if you chose someone who didn’t love you and was just using you. It was too vulnerable a position for that.

Rose offered a safe room for Mels to sleep in and unlimited kid friendly movies. She started with Inside Out and a tub of carmel corn and Halloween chocolate. A proper start to a proper childhood.

She didn’t need in on this conversation.

Rose pulled out her phone.

///

The Doctor was downloading information from the rubbish computers when he got a phone call.

It played “You’re So Vain” as its ringtone. He rolled his eyes. He wasn’t Braxiatel!

Considering only the Ponds and Aki had the number, he was guaranteed it would be someone he’d rather talk to than River.

“Hello! It’s so nice to hear a friendly voice-“

“Doctor!” Aki interrupted. His heart clenched.

“Yes?”

“I need you to be honest with me.” She sounded pained. Best not to ramble.

“Okay.”

“Have you or do you think you are likely to shag Amy in the future?”

His jaw dropped and his free arm cartwheeled.

“What?!” He squeaked manly like.

“I need to know- but not in detail please.”

He tried to speak several times but words failed him. Timelords didn’t ask each other these things. He glanced River’s way.

“I’m not. I didn’t. It’s most inappropriate to discuss-“

“Yes or No. Just yes or no! I’m not asking for kicks.” Aki growled. “Do I need to get Jack to ask? Because he will demand details-“

That was terrifying.

“No! No. She’s like an annoying kid sister!”

There was a long pause. “Okay.”

“Why in the name Of Rassilon did you need to know that?”

“In the name of Rassilon?”

Her side was quiet. She hated the man.

“Just, why did you need to know?”

“We’ve found a human Time Lord hybrid who thinks Amy will be her mum.”

The Doctor considered Rory being a fobwatched Timelord. He hadn’t been fazed by the interior dimensions of the TARDIS or anything.

No. Probably not.

“You can’t tell your friends. This is clearly a time loop we can’t mess with.” Aki said.

“Okay.” He sat down.

“How is the research going?” Aki asked.

“Dull. I don’t fancy creating a species specific virus, and I won’t commit genocide for the humans.” He kicked his feet up on a table.

“Could we make the environment hostile? Maybe play the chicken dance on repeat at a frequency only they can hear, or telepathically?” Aki suggested.

The Doctor smirked at the thought. “Doubtful I wouldn’t be able to hear it.”

“Poor Doctor, having to use his shields and ear plugs to save a planet. What a sacrifice.” Aki teased.

The Doctor took a deep breath. He felt instantly more relaxed just talking to her.

“Miss you.” He let spill from his lips. That didn’t sound needy did it?

“See ya!” Aki hung up.

He still had the wistful smile on his face when he caught River staring at him.

“That her then?”

///

“We can’t take her home yet.” Jack had his serious face on.

“Course not. Gotta find the right time to return her to first.” Rose sent them into the vortex.

“The Silence have been messing with her head her whole life. She could be a sleeper assassin set to murder the Doctor or her parents.” Jack reasoned.

Rose wanted to argue the point, but it was possible. “We aren’t going to trap her like the Silence. We aren’t doing that.”

“We can’t let her go. Not on Earth. We release her and the Silence will kidnap her immediately, and she’ll be even harder to find.” Jack crossed his arms.

“Then we make her look different-“

“The Silence will go to her parents first because that’s the first place a scared kid would go.” Jack countered.

“Then we stop the Silence first.” Rose shrugged even though she knew it wasn’t that easy. The creatures they’d seen were pilotfish. Minions. Rose had a sinking feeling she knew who was behind it. But even if it was Rassilon seeking revenge, it would be impossible to find him. The rat.

They took Mels to see the moon landing from an ice cream shop.

“One small step for man— you should kill us all on sight.”

Rose shook her head. That was a command. One there was no way the Silence had caused.

She covered her mouth. “Oh Doctor. What have you done?”

The Doctor texted a location for pickup.

They put Mels to bed.

The TARDIS doors opened.

“That was brilliant!” River praised the Doctor.  
The Doctor looked quite pleased with himself.

“Aki!” He cheered quite pleased with himself. “Did you see? Occupation over!”

“That was genocide!” Rose growled. 

“What was I supposed to do? Let them keep manipulating the human race?” He argued.

“You did the right thing.” River said, being complementary for the first time she’d seen. Clearly it had been her idea. Is this what River did to him? Nausea hit her.

“What about annoying them off planet or transmatting them to a planet a billion light years away?” Like she had suggested. Certainly a lot easier than slipping some video into the Moon landing transmission that millions were watching around the world.

“They could have come back.” River growled. She clearly had a personal vendetta against them.

“You never used to murder with such abandon. You showed Davros mercy.” Rose insisted. His 10th self. His 4th.

“And look where it got me! The Time War would never have happened if It weren’t for my mercy- today I remember the victims.” The Doctor growled. There was so much pain in his voice, and self loathing.

Oh, how Rose wished she could tell him that this body helped fix that; that his people yet lived because of his choices. That he was that good man when given any sort of choice in the matter.

“This isn’t like you. It’s cruel and cowardly. I’m not sure that I know you anymore.” Rose left the console room as the Doctor returned River to jail.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Doctor watched Aki go, scrubbing his hands through his hair. He had wanted to impress her. They had hardly seen each other these last few months.

He opened the door for River.

“You’re home,” the Doctor announced. He didn’t have the energy for jokes.

“I don’t know why you let her judge you like that, when you have someone right here who adores you.” River played with his bow tie.

He attempted a half-hearted smile.

“You did the right thing,” River assured him.

But his conscience agreed with Aki, no matter how he wished it didn’t. He wasn’t keeping to his rules. He hadn’t given them a chance, and he’d taken the most lethal method. Why had he done that?

River grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, to his surprise. Maybe if he reciprocated he could start to feel something for River. He tried, but it felt wrong. Like he was betraying someone. Rose was never coming back and here he had someone who wanted to express... what? It wasn’t devotion. It could just be an excuse to get the chemical reactions she wanted in her own body. He didn’t want to be used.

He pulled away.

“That was.. um. New.” He flapped his arms about.

“It isn’t in the future. Why are you denying yourself happiness?” River asked.

“I’ve got to go.”

He shut the door. Guilt ate at him. But he didn’t have an answer for River either.

///

He sought her out.

“I need your opinion on something,” The Doctor asked, as if he thought she’d turn him down.

“Okay.” She followed him to the console room, but kept her arms across her chest.

“This is a scan of Amy. Before the Silence, she told me she was pregnant. Later, she said she wasn’t.” The Doctor said.

Rose looked at the scanner. It said that Amy was currently pregnant ...but also not pregnant?!

She frowned. “Time bubble? Or no...it’s improbable.” 

“Or what?” He asked.

“Only time I’ve seen something like this, dimensional walls were thin and I was getting a reading from the parallel world version as well as the present one. In one, someone was dead and not dead. Two versions of the same person.” Rose tapped on the screen to see the wider parameters.

The veil between universes was still intact. It would take two working Tardises to create a bridge.

Wait. Was this the pregnancy where Amy’s baby would be kidnapped? Rose’s heart ached for the young woman. She would have gone mad if any of her children had been taken from her. A vengeful, rage-filled beast full of pain. Corin had created the extra shimmers first for their children, then on rescue missions for others. Young Gallifreyan children got into all sorts of trouble, even without a working Tardis. They had set them with fast return features to their Tardis so the children could escape any danger.

Much like the Doctor once had. Surely he wasn’t thinking straight. He still thought his three children and grandchildren were dead. She wasn’t ready for that conversation, either.

“Walls aren’t thin. I was thinking along the line of a clone.”

“Okay. But why Amy?”

“Traveling with me puts a big ’attack me’ sign on you.” She knew that tone.

“Even so, it wouldn’t be your fault unless you plan on paying someone to do it. You have the ego of a god, but not the omnipotence or power to take on that burden.”

She carefully put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Thanks for trusting me with this.”

He nodded. “Still mad?” 

She moved to lean on the seat.

“Disappointed. I know you’re capable of so much more.” Rose was so tired after the long and emotional day she’d had. She had to find a way to deaden her love for him or this would never work.

“You have more confidence in me than I do,” he said.

Nope. She wasn’t feeding his ego after all he put her through today.

“Tomorrow we need to return Amy’s daughter Mels. Can you guesstimate a due date for her and add a few months?”

“Basic math? Yeah, I’m confident I can still manage it.” There was that bit of the old Doctor coming through. “Where is she?”

“Sleeping. She’s still a kid.” Rose grimaced. “I had the TARDIS put an alarm on her door so we will know if she leaves. The ship isn’t childproof and unfortunately, Jack is right. We have no idea the level of indoctrination she’s had.”

“I hate that you’re right.” He hated the idea of making a child a prisoner on the TARDIS. He would like to give her freedom, but only a fool would leave out the sharp knives and cleaning supplies with a small child around. The TARDIS had far more dangerous rooms. What if she fell into the Eye of Harmony? The TARDIS was hardly childproof. He’d hate to tell the Ponds that their child had fallen into a black hole while in his care.

“Where are the Ponds, anyway? They shouldn’t know about their sucky future.” Rose looked around the room.

“Home. It’s been a long three months. They said they’d call, though.” He frowned. “I should feel lonely now that they’re gone, but I don’t. Kinda relieved, actually.”

He was opening up to her. Why did he choose now for honesty? To be fair he’d been honest when he told her he wasn’t attracted to her. Back with his 10th self she would have offered up a small animal in sacrifice for this much honest talk about feelings.

“I thought you liked traveling with them.”

“Oh, I do. Just isn’t fun being the gooseberry.” He fiddled with a control on the console.

“You weren’t this time though. Your girlfriend was along.” The words were bitter on her tongue.

“River’s not- she’s complicated.” She saw him wince.

“Because of the time loop you have to fulfill, or because you’ve already seen her die?” Rose closed her eyes. She shouldn’t have said that.

The Doctor stood up stick-straight and gaped at her. “How did you know that?”

Great, here was the suspicious look.

“If you know it there is a 90% probability that I do too.” Corin had transferred his memories to her in a locked mental box she could retrieve. It helped to keep timelines straight as she visited all his incarnations. She had been creating one of her own for the Doctor in case she never got to tell him everything he didn’t remember. About the fate of their children. About her many visits. About his freedom from the Timelord council. How he survived his second regeneration. Everything.

“Why’s that?” She felt the Doctor check his mental shields for weaknesses.

“I needed to know for the timelines, “ Rose shrugged like it was nothing.

“That. That would require an unreal amount of trust.” The Doctor looked aghast. “Or centuries of boredom.”

She pulled out her infinity symbol invitation and waved it about. “Anyways, time for bed.”

Right. He apparently trusted her more than himself in the future. He appreciated that she didn’t rub it in or demand he trust her now.

“Come on, you don’t need that much sleep,” the Doctor groused.

“Night!” Aki insisted.

//

He still had problems wrapping his mind around the idea that Romana knew nearly everything about him. Some of it was rather recent.

The Doctor had spent Mels’s sleeping time making her a bio damper that worked as an emergency call button, as well. He’d killed off the Silence, but he wasn’t going to risk the Ponds’ safety on that. One could have survived if they avoided all human habitations or got to a ship in time.

He input the coordinates for the Ponds’ future.

“Nothing like a full stomach and a good night’s rest,” Jack said as he came down the stairs. 

Aki came in with Jack and the little girl who had Rory’s hair, but otherwise looked a lot like her mum.

The girl was a bit thin, but didn’t look like a kidnapping victim with a clean face and modern clothes.

He handed her a necklace with an oblong pendant and showed her how to activate it on the backside.

Jack opened the doors.

“Doctor!” Amy called frantically. “Have you found her?” 

Mels froze up and clung to Aki’s hand. ”Are you gonna hurt me?”

Amy looked like she was going to cry and fell to her knees in front of her daughter.

Rory jogged up from behind.

“Is that?”

“It’s your daughter. Sorry we weren’t able to get her sooner.” He felt like an idiot instead of a hero.

“Melody! Our Melody!” Amy wailed, reaching towards her daughter, who looked uncertain.

“Mum?”

“I’m your mum, and he’s your dad, and we’ve missed you so much!”

Melody deemed their emotions sincere and went into her mother’s arms.

Rory waved at his daughter as he fell to his knees and offered his own arms.

Aki led the Doctor back towards the console to give the family their privacy.

“I called in some favors at UNIT, and their best psychologist will be here tomorrow and on speed dial to help her recover and reintegrate into society.” Aki said.

“And if they find out she’s part alien?” He asked.

“Brenda is very discreet and doesn’t have any anti alien prejudices. She’s worked with a lot of alien refugees.” Aki assured him.

“Thanks,” He hadn’t thought of that.

“She’s going to need deprogramming.” He could see Aki’s grief for the family as she bit her lip. All tense muscles and furrowed brow.

“You’ve saved her from a far worse fate,” he assured her.

“I hope it’s enough.” Aki rubbed her face.

Jack appeared through the TARDIS doors and gave a thumbs up that the house and neighborhood were clear of any threats.

He nodded back at Jack.

The tone was sober as they left the Pond home. She had been saved from her kidnappers now, but it meant sometime in the girl’s distant past they had failed her. He had failed his best friends. He had no doubt that she had been kidnapped due to their association with him. What horrors had she lived through? Amy was a mess. She never showed her weaknesses.

There he went again ruining all his friends’ lives.

“Right! Time to take Jack home.” He clapped his hands.

And get back to normal with Aki.

“Could I come with you?” Aki said.

That was silly. Of course she could come with him. Oh. Aki was looking at Jack.  
No. No. no.

“Of course.” Jack said the opposite of what he should.

“Or.. Or we could go somewhere nice first.” He didn't care if he sounded a bit desperate. “One last adventure together, eh?”

He wasn’t Jack’s biggest fan. Originally, he’d only let him stay on board because of Rose. He was useful in a pinch, but he wasn’t someone he’d hang out with on his own. Possibly because he was so popular and drew attention away from the Doctor’s brilliance. That or he just couldn’t get over thinking of him as competition.

He needed to pick a place where Jack would be the gooseberry and wrong-footed. Somewhere that would remind Aki why she needed to stay with the last of her species instead of the flirty immortal. Something that would remind her of home.

“We could do that,” Jack had his arm around Aki.

The Doctor grinned and set coordinates.

Outside was a tropical jungle interspersed with farmland. As expected, the human immediately began sweating and stripped off his clothing down to a white muscle shirt. 

Well, that was less enjoyable. He thought sarcasticly.

His nose wrinkled.

Aki stripped down to a dark red tank top with her dark gold trousers. Not bad at all. Although it meant whatever changes had occurred to make her not read Timelord had affected her temperature regulation pathways. She must hate that.

“Welcome back to Karn,” he announced.

Jack looked up at the sky at the intense planetary defense system. “Nice. Looks like we’ll have air conditioning once we reach civilization.”

“They’ve rebuilt,” Aki said.

“Yes. centuries ago this was all blasted red rock from various wars. But the regular weather patterns have returned with their monsoons and all the long dormant seeds have been reborn.” He smiled at her. 

“It’s normally one of the most rainy planets in Kastaborous,” Aki told Jack.

“It’s not monsoon season right now is it?” Jack asked as if the Doctor was known for bad driving.

Aki laughed.

He scowled. “No. I checked.” This trip needed to be perfect, so he had been extra careful.

“What part of this is nice?” Jack wiped his brow.

“We’re getting there.” The Doctor said. They approached a covered market. “Ta da! This is about the only place you can get traditional shobogan food-”

“Some of which is toxic to humans,” Aki addressed Jack.

“Fun,” Jack said.

“And the sisterhood of Karn are the most accurate soothsayers to ever sooth say.” He tried to act impressive. The Ponds would have been all over this.

Jack went to check out a booth which allowed the Doctor to pull Aki back. 

“Mind telling me why you’re still mad at me?” He addressed her in Gallifreyan. 

She scowled.

“I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me.” He added.

“I don’t blame you, if that is what you’re asking. I thought you might be a bit more sensitive to my side of all this.” She gestured between them. “It’s not that I want to go, it’s that I probably should, because my feelings aren’t changing as quickly as I would need to stick around.”

Of course she was still mad about Gallifrey. “You can be angry with me for as long as you like, just don’t go.” He begged.

“I don’t see why you want or need me around. River hates me, and you’ve got that bright shiny future of yours that can’t be messed with by an angry River.” Aki headed to a food booth.

He followed after. He would earn her forgiveness someday.

///

The Warden of Stormcage came to River’s cell, as he was wont to do. He was always richly dressed and insistent that he still be called Lord, even though he had lost that title.

“Yes, I saw the Doctor. Yes, I flirted and led him to believe I was in love with him and would become his wife.” River was never quite sure why the Warden wanted that. It was one of the primary conditions of being allowed to leave on occasion. Being trapped was worse than being dead. She had died before and could confirm it.

“Was he alone?” The Warden asked. River had only been able to gather that the Doctor had kicked the Warden off his homeworld and turned his people against him. The Doctor’s general MO. It had led to her kidnapping, to nefarious alliances, and the creation of fixed points around the Doctor’s death.

“My parents were with him and his newest companion.” Never let them see you bothered. Her parents who knew nothing of her and had to remain that way, despite wanting to talk to her dad about her life.

“What was her name?” The Warden asked. It was always fair to assume the Doctor’s companion was female, as most were.

“She was going by Aki but that’s clearly an alias. She wears a shimmer. The Doctor trusts her, but even he doesn’t really know who she is.” River reported. Quicker this interview ended the quicker she could imagine she wasn’t still in this cell.

The Warden’s face turned terrible. She tried to think of what she had said he’d been so incensed over.

“Was she wearing golden bracelets?” He asked.

“Yes.” River recalled.

“I want her dead.” The Warden’s spittle hit her cell bars.

“You want her bracelets?” River scoffed. “Not sure they’d flatter you.”

“Dead. Make it painful.” The Warden seemed to hate Aki more than the Doctor, which was a trick. It also showed a weakness. What had she done that was worse?

“Demands like that have a high cost. If I kill her I’ll lose my free time and space ride.” River picked up her diary as if the Warden didn’t concern her at all. What was left of that little girl couldn’t help the visceral terror at the Monsters from her nightmares.

“Do it, and you’ll go free.” He gestured to the Silence at his sides. “And you will have a TARDIS of your own.”

“How can I trust you’ll ever really let me go free? I thought I was free for nearly a century and yet you just keep dragging me into your drama.” Always appear to be in control of the situation, especially when you have none. She’d learned that from the Doctor.

“Once you are a full Time Lord you will be my peer. Tracking is for lesser species.” The Warden looked down his nose at her.

River had always wanted a TARDIS. After her parent’s death, it was all she had wanted. She couldn’t help wondering if her grief at their loss would have been lesser if she had never been allowed to know them.

She had precious little to lose and freedom to gain while stuck with her kidnappers. 

Her parents would forgive her this betrayal. After all, their precious friend the Doctor wouldn’t be harmed. He had been fun, but hardly treated her like a friend at all with all his disdain and insults. It didn’t seem like he would become one of her lovers either.

I don’t want to marry you. He’d said with disgust.

Why are you in prison? Who did you kill, hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Seriously?

That still stung, but it wasn’t wholly inaccurate. Maybe he shouldn’t trust her.

After all, the Doctor had made a grave error taking away everything she loved and forcing her to serve time for a murder she hadn’t quite committed, all to keep his anonymity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to TugBoatG for her awesome beta reading!
> 
> River’s motivations are different here because her story is different. Also her kidnappers make more sense. We have no background on why eyepatch lady hates the Doctor or how she can create a fixed point out of his death she scheduled or how she made River. I think my version makes more sense with 12s seasons. 
> 
> Anyone guess who the Warden is? He is a canon character you should be familiar with who can do all the things involved here.
> 
> While on Karn the Doctor will discover Rose isn’t Romana. That was hard to write coherently.
> 
> I’ll work on the next chapter after doing a short Christmas challenge where 10 gets Rose back but only for a day as reward for helping an alien species.
> 
> As always any kind of comments or criticism is loved and cherished.


	13. Karn 2

Chapter 13

Because The Doctor had never had that good of luck he soon found himself in trouble.

“You stole a shard of our sacred crystal!” A local cried.

“On accident! When I got distracted saving your planet! It should be noted that that same crystal killed me before the timeline reset, so who is the real victim here?” He gestured widely.

Apparently they still thought they were the victims and he was in jail. A proper made to keep Timelords in jail jail. The sonic was useless in here and this jail was probably Gallifreyan made. He kicked a corner even though it hurt.

And Aki was out there unsupervised with bloody Jack Harkness. All he had wanted was one nice day. It had been nothing but humiliation and people knowing things about him he didn’t for months now! He couldn’t even get a nice easy invasion where he was impressive and his friends were impressed by his brilliance.

Hours later they brought him food. Shobogan food. It was good but no doubt Jack was having his romantic dinner with Aki while he was stuck in here. It was supposed to be Jack trying to keep up while Aki was glued to him laughing at his jokes with nary a glance at the human. He needed a chance to prove that she belonged with him instead.

After the Time War he probably didn’t deserve nice things but the law of large numbers said something decent should happen eventually.

“You may leave.” The jailer startled him from his brooding.

“Sorry? I mean, yes, good. You’ve come to your senses. Lucky for you I’m feeling forgiving.” He strutted into the hallway.

“Oh you’re still guilty but you’ve been pardoned due to your excellent connections.” All of his connections were either dead or Ohilla who would probably just ask that they didn’t kill him.

“Ah, yes. I’m very well connected. Which of my many friends am I to thank this time?” He clapped his hands.

The jailer, a woman with elaborately braided red hair shook her head.

“No idea how someone so young has favor with The Other.” She said.

He stopped.

“When you say ‘The Other’ I don’t suppose you mean of Rassilon, Omega and the Other fame, do you? You see as a Timelord it’s what springs to-“ He joked.

“Yes. Stop rambling self-important Timelord.” She tugged him along.

Well that was rude, or as the shobogan and outsiders termed it- blunt. He didn’t object because he didn’t want to jinx his own escape.

In the waiting room he found Jack flirting with the staff who were naturally giving him the cold shoulder. They would consider him a lesser species and without telepathy what would be the point of a dalliance?

“ I do like a woman who can take charge.” Jack said.

If any of them were time sensitive he was giving them a headache. The sisterhood may be more open to aliens than his people had been but as far as mating went he would be an inferior specimen. 

But Jack wasn’t who he was looking for.

Aki appeared to be talking to Ohilla herself. He tilted his head when Ohillia of all people was acting deferential to Aki. Romana hadn’t been their President. He didn’t understand why they would be deferiential now.

“Here he is as you requested.” Ohilla gestured at him.

“Thank you.” Aki looked stiff.

“Thank you for your aid in years past.” Ohilla inclined her head.

“No, no, I should have done more. It was hard to do anything without showing where our true loyalties lied, and we couldn’t change the timeline too much.” Aki shook her head and looked pained.

“Yet what you did, you did at great personal cost.” Ohilla said.

“Yeah.” Aki breathed out.

“So I who am I to thank? The warden said it was ‘The Other’ if you can imagine.” The Doctor tried to get Aki to crack a smile at the very notion.

Instead she winced.”Hello!”

He looked between the two women in confusion.

“ Behold the founder of Timelord society known amongst your own as The Other because Rassilion was a bastard who wouldn’t acknowledge anyone who wasn’t one his lackeys.” Ohillia pointed at Aki.

He laughed. “I see you’re losing your touch. She’s not the founder. Wearing the robes of the President of Gallifrey doesn’t make you one of the founders.” 

Rassilion may have been the first to wear the white and gold robes of President but he wasn’t the only one to. The Doctor had thought the Sisterhood was more savvy than that.

“I’ve never been President, gotta be a timelord for that.” Aki argued as if he was dim witted. A human would have added ‘Duh’.

“I know you aren’t now, but you were a timelord once, Romana, until the War. I will always consider you one.” He soothed.

Aki covered her mouth. “Oh God!” She let out a hysterical giggle that turned to relieved laughter. “Oh course you’re that thick. Thicktown Thickania population you.”

“Sorry?” He didn’t like feeling left out.

“You thought I was Romana! And apparently totally full of myself if I’m my favorite timelord.” She snarked.

“But you are Romana even if you’ve changed your name since then.”

“I have never been a Timelord or Romana.” Aki argued.

“But you agreed when I asked you.” The Doctor countered.

“No I didn’t. I thought you knew who I was but apparently you’re just as socially thick as ever. Give you a machine or invading force and you’re a genius but individuals? Useless.”

If she wasn’t Romana then who?

“They called me Akiytior on Gallifrey.” Akytior said.

He looked to Ohilla. “She’s the Other?!”

“What’s left of it. On Ancient Gallifrey Bonded pairs were counted as the same person. We were, my husband and I.” There was such sorrow in her eyes as she shrugged. “Shitest Retirement Ever.”

Bonded pairs were rare in his time and even back on ancient Gallifrey not every couple got bonded. A telepathic link was more common because when one bonded mate died the other often did from sheer agony. He couldn’t quite imagine how horrific that must be. 

“What, but-” He had been traveling with The Other this whole time? That was why the TARDIS had registered her as Other. It’s not that she didn’t know, it was giving her official designation. All TARDISes were set up to recognise the founders back when regeneration was a new concept and not all passengers on a ship would be able to tell by their psychic signature. The founders could get away with anything so it was also used to counter Founder fraud. As an Academy student he had tried to trick the computer matrix into thinking he was the Other to change his grades by telepathic manipulation. It had almost worked.

But the real thing! The Other was known for many good parts of his culture and was celebrated every Otherstide, whereas the other founders had always had a bit more of a threatening aura. He had loved Otherstide, a festival every year on his name day! 

He had been so rude to The Other. The founder of time travel and developer of regeneration.

He started to dip down in a bow.

“Don’t you dare salute! I mean it-” The Other threatened as she pointed at him.

“Yes, Other.” He kept his eyes down.

“This is why I never told you this.” She growled. “I’m still me.”

“So you’re Patience- the wife of The Other, part of The Other.” The Doctor mused. 

“That’s a mouthful.” Jack commented.

“That’s not actually my name.” Akytior the Other said. “ It always was an awful nickname. Being forced to be patient isn’t the same.”

“What was the male Other’s real name? It’s omitted from all texts.” The Doctor had always been curious. 

“Being free is better than being in charge.” She said, clearly not wanting the influence she was entitled to. She was also avoiding his question like a champ. He could be patient enough to worm an answer out of her.

It was strange that she chose the Other quote he had adopted for himself as it saw it to be true. It’s why he had always ditched power and responsibility such as being Lord President of Gallifrey. Most of the Prydon chapter disagreed and thought nothing was better than being in charge. They could have it.

“That’s not an answer.” The Doctor probed.

“A reception is being assembled now in your honor, Akiytior.” Ohilla interrupted. “It would be rude of you to deny us.”

While he was annoyed at her interruption he was amused that Ohilla and her worshippers of Pythia could turn being deferential into a demand to do as they want. It was very them.

Akiytior acquested to Jack’s delight. Jack went back to holding Akiytior, not Romana’s, hand. He no longer had a reason to be displeased. He wasn’t honoring his brother’s memory. She wasn’t a Timelord, which was disappointing. And yet, couldn’t it be said that a lowly 51st century human was unworthy of a founder of Gallifrey even if he was immortal?

He followed after them to a room with delicacies on a gilded side table.

It was like seeing her for the first time. He looked at her timelines and all he saw were starbursts of gold in every direction, like a halo seen in human artwork to denote holiness. Jack’s were long and silver but even his complicated long life looked like a small gem in comparison. No wonder the time sensitive Pythias could pick her out immediately. She must appear as their goddess incarnate Pythia herself who had seen all of time and space at once.

“ You know,” Jack drawled. “There is this smallish moon out there where I would be worshipped. I helped the local population not only become genetically diverse I showed them how to become sexual beings again.”

“Yes, yes Jack Harkness sleeps with everybody again. Your stories are becoming predictable.” The Doctor shook his head.

“Like there isn’t a planet out there where you wouldn’t get this treatment.” Jack argued. Ah. He was trying to make Akiytior feel more comfortable.

“Maybe a few.” He allowed with a bit of smirk. He was certainly impressive.

“You’re welcome.” Akiytior said pointedly.

Oh. That’s right he had never thanked her for getting him out of jail. His face reddened slightly despite his blood control.

“Thanks for what will be a fabulous night of food and celebrating.” Jack beat him to it.

“Thanks for getting me out of jail.” The Doctor said.

She smiled at Jack instead. Jack who was probably well versed in all kinds of pleasure.

He turned around and grabbed a plate and picked his favorites from the food table to distract from that thought. It was rare to feel inferior to anyone in a room.

“Magnolia Pie!” He exclaimed around a mouthful of fried Tafelshrews, while grabbing a slice for Akiytior.

He brought it to her. “We both like Magnolia pie!” Here was a pleasure he could offer that Jack couldn’t.

There you go! She smiled at him like he was a goofy idiot that she was pleased with. 

She took a bite and made a surprising moan of delight. “God, I need their recipe! Mine is never this good.” Her manners were relaxed instead of proper to his delight.

He took a bite and agreed on it’s flavor.

Her eyes crinkled as her smile was so genuine. It just made you want to smile with her.

SHe seemed so much happier not being Romana.

His mind wandered to his time with this woman, well that he remembered. She fit in his life as if she was made for it. Being around her made him happy in a way that didn’t make sense. This woman despite the body was beautiful.

Was he? No... No. He might possibly fancy her. Well, if Jack didn’t deserve her he, the murderer of his own kind certainly didn’t.

Just then Jack brought drinks.

“You know, saving you has become something of a hobby, Doctor.” Akiytior said fondly.

“Yeah? Like when?” When else had they met?

“ The Timelords were all set to trap you in a jail fixing broken objects for the rest of your natural life on Gallifrey back in your second life. I intervened and used my influence to get you stuck on Earth and stop those who would have had you killed for breaking their laws.” She seemed relieved to get that off her chest.

“Oh, really? Unit wasn’t that much better.” The Doctor said. “But why would you be that interested in a lowly wandering Timelord with few friends or connections?”

“You have more friends than you realize, Doctor.” That came from Jack.

“I told them they had to let you wander about as you wanted, or else the Other would never have come to Gallifrey in the first place. “She confided over a drink of spiced wine. “ They could see the timelines through me. Timeloops have always been a catch 22.”

He leaned forward. “Were you lying?” Lying for him was nice enough.

“Nope. We crossed your timeline before we first went to Gallifrey, any Gallifrey. We grew the first Timeship because we already knew how. “ She leaned towards him. “I never would have met my bondmate without your interference.”

He had introduced Leela to Andred on Gallifrey but she wasn’t Leela. He was certain of it even if he didn’t know how.

“I conveniently never told them when in your timeline our paths had to cross.” She shrugged with a grin.

Who had been the lucky bastard to bond with her? 

“So I have only myself to blame for your revealing nothing while saying much.” His mouth twitched.

“Oh, Definitely.” Her smile turned flirty.

“Is that why I can’t place you? I had to forget due to timelines?” He asked.

“That too.”

“So sometime in my future I’ll meet younger you and set you on your path leading to the founding of Gallifrey?” He couldn’t hide his delight. That would be fun despite it ending with her bonding to another man who clearly had been better for her than he could be. Ok. Less delightful.

Her smile fell as did her eyes.

“Actually, that has already happened for you.”

He frowned. “Then why can’t I remember? At the end of the fixed point it should all be coming to me now.”

“Oh, you remember it even if you aren’t aware of where it led us. Hence the shimmer.” Her voice was matter of fact.

“But why would you still hide from me?” Did she slap him or did he act like a jealous idiot during her tenure on the TARDIS? Was it embarrassing?

“You feel responsible for all your companions and I don’t want you treating me with kid gloves. I’m a big girl who saves all of reality on her own these days. You also have a long future ahead of you with fixed points of your own. I don’t need you getting reckless on my account. You are a trouble magnet enough as is.” She folded her arms over her chest as she took another bite of pie.

“I could promise to treat you like an adult.” He was a bit offended that that was why he couldn’t see her in all her real glory when Jack could.

She seemed to consider it.

Of course that was when one of the Pythia followers interrupted them to take Akiytior to be pampered and dressed more appropriately for the event.

Rather inconvenient timing. He could have convinced her and then maybe he wouldn’t be so confused or fascinated by her.

A loud crunching sound reminded him that he was still with Jack.

He turned to find Jack staring at him.

“She deserves better than this hot and cold game you’ve always played.”

“I’m not being-” He protested.

“Yes you are. Flirty and treating her like you love her and then whoops, River is here. Time to treat her like trash again. Or really posh historical figures.” Jack said. “Which is bad enough but when she’s gone you treat River badly too.”

“Says the man who will flirt with anything.” 

“I’m friendly with most people but I am capable of being monogamous with the right person.” Jack tossed another treat into his mouth. “You just want to keep all your options open and string people along. My lovers know exactly where they stand with me.”

Being judged by Harkness felt like a new low. He stood up to get a drink.

“I’ve been in relationships before and it never turns out well for me. I’m always the one left behind, not the other way around.” He toasted Jack. “You never get attached enough for it to hurt.”

“That’s not true. It hurts every time but I don’t let it stop me from loving.” Jack fixed him with a glare.

It was true that he didn’t rightly know what he wanted now from Akiytior. The Other. That was intimidating. Alright he did know that he enjoyed having her around and wanted more than that, but flirting? Had he really been. He thought he could fall in love with her, but was that alright? He always had this niggling Rose shaped conscience. If Rose were here, would she think that he hadn’t loved her as deeply as he had or as completely if he allowed himself to be drawn to this woman that reminded him of her? Better than pretending to love River who was Rose’s opposite. Selfish with a cruel streak he saw more of the longer he knew her. He might be able to make River better but at the expense of his own attempts to be better than the War made him.

“Then you’re a stronger man than I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta this time. I'm sure it will show.
> 
> Merry Christmas chapter but no holiday theme unfortunately. Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Solstice or generic winter greeting.
> 
> As always I'd love comments of any kind.
> 
> Note: the crystal incident is canon and it killed an unnamed Doctor. Since we know all of the Doctors deaths(of lives he is aware of) it had to have been reset at some point. All the information on Karn is wiki canon compliant.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last of the adventure on Karn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to TugBoatG for fixing my embarrassing typos and making everything flow better.
> 
> Next Chapter will include parts of Corin and Rose and Susan's story as well as the beginning of a fun chapter that takes place in Texas. In the very real famous Tyler Rose Garden in the town Tyler, Texas during a fairy tale festival. Lots of Rose Doctor stuff and feels. Poor Doctor has a shippy TARDIS.
> 
> After that the start of the beginning of the end where River rejoins the group as they end up on Asgard but it's not at all what it seems. It will be intense and action packed.
> 
> Probably. Still toying with adding a short Doctor's Wife episode before the big Original Episode where things will change forever.

Chapter 14 Ignorance is Bliss

Rose felt nervous and excited, with a bit of dread. 

Excited that the Doctor didn’t think of her like a sister, and, if his slightly jealous actions earlier meant anything, he might fancy her a bit. Or maybe he was jealous of another man getting someone’s attention. He could simply want to be the most impressive person in a room again. That was very him. No need to think otherwise. 

It was satisfying that not knowing who she was she still seemed to turn his head, well before he discovered she was The Other.

What if he now thought of her as some ancient fossil you kept alive in a private museum for history? She visibly shuddered at the thought. No, her worst problem was the wide divide between what she SHOULD want and what she actually did. She wanted to kiss the Doctor again and travel with him like the giggling teenager he made her feel like again. She wanted to give River Song the boot and tell her ‘hands off! He’s mine. We were married twice! On purpose.’ She wanted the Doctor to agree that she was more important than this new wannabe. She wanted to fulfil this Doctor’s many fantasies that Corin had told her he had while they had travelled together and fully mark her territory.

It wasn’t the most mature response, but that could be blamed on the Doctor making her feel young. Right?

She should just move on. She had spent enough time around Timelords to know you shouldn’t mess with fixed points. Time happens all at once and then- boom, no more time, and then no more universe. Reapers were the least of their troubles. She was scared that if the Doctor acted the way she wanted him to, the way Corin thought he would, that she would be dooming the universe just to lay claim to her love. She couldn’t give the Doctor the option to do that. She knew that despite being a Timelord he wasn’t logical when it came to her. When he had lost her the first time he had considered some recklessly dangerous options to get her back. He had thrown the TARDIS manual into a blackhole because it said it was impossible. He had only known her a few years then. What would he do when he realized she had been a part of his whole life? That she had adventured with him in every life and most of his eighth? It would only cause him further pain to make the right choice and he already had enough guilt. She refused to be the reason he let himself die again.

She was a danger to the Doctor.

She tried not to be pleased by her appearance in the mirror. All that pampering made her skin glow and she looked like a gilded Rose. She wore a gold halo headpiece that had red roses adorning the gold spikes that surrounded her head making her look like a Saint from renaissance paintings. They were definitely trying to make her look more goddess than person. At least it wasn’t a sweaty Timelord helmet and excessive metal collar of pompousness. Her gown was Prydon red with gold Akiytior climbing up the dress and long sleeves making the dress nearly more gold than red. Hardly any skin showed, as expected from the touch telepath prudes who wouldn’t dare risk accidental skin touching. One side had a sash that was lacey gold that might be solid embroidered metal. She could ask how they had all this in her size but the answer was probably that they had foreseen it.

She really didn’t want the Doctor to start seeing her as an untouchable historical artifact you kept locked away. You don’t want the Doctor’s attention, she reminded herself. Friendly but not too friendly. This dress could help give her some distance. Distance might mean less bad puns and silliness, which she couldn’t be parted with. She could flirt her heart out with Jack.

“Have you told him?” Chida, one of the soothsayers asked.  
“You know. You sooth say.” She countered.

“It’s rude to speak what is known in your culture.” Chida shrugged. 

“But not rude to insinuate?”

“Such things can be therapeutic. Telepathic health is essential for a community of telepaths. Without honesty, wounds can fester.”

“I don’t see how it’s your business, as I am not part of your community or bloodlines.” She kept her back straight.

“By our laws, you are the same person, but are no longer bound for reasons that do not make sense. You had a successful bond. Any with sight could see it. You are incomplete. You have not reestablished your bond now that your timelines align. It’s illogical.”

She longed to have the Doctor in her mind again. He alone could fill that Corin-shaped hole. You could only ever have a full bond with one person. Technically they were the same and she could be whole again. Her mind needed him more than he did her. What if this Doctor was meant to bond with River?

“What’s more, you hide yourself from one you shared a mind with for centuries. It seems masochistic.”

“I’m keeping him safe, which is more important than any transient desires.” Rose searched for the exit.

“Sure, Timelord.” Chida made it an insult. “What would your bondmate Corin want?”

Her eyes burned at that. Corin had always wanted her to return to him. ‘He will always love you and need you, just like me.’ He had said. Well she wasn’t going to be anyone’s on-the-side mistress. And she was tired of getting hurt, and most days, tired of life. 

“Well he’s not here anymore! That man out there never had children with me, didn’t share a mortgage with me or retire with me. He’s not him. Your own people base personhood on the memories you carry with you- that he doesn’t have. That man out there left me behind.” Her voice cracked.

“You resent him for it.” Chida tilted her head.

“If I tell him, I would sacrifice all of time for it. I do what I must.”

“Are you sure?”

*

The outdoor pavilion was covered in blooming vines and surrounded on two sides by waterfalls that continued over a cliff to display the canyon below that was partly obscured by mist. Glowing tiny birds flew around. He was pretty sure this was the ruins of the once mighty Citadel of Karn, which had ruled Empires until their civil war had devastated the planet. Rumor had it that his people had had a hand in the destabilization of their only competition.

Tables had tall gold vases that were overflowing with blood red Akiytior, that reminded him too much of their Earth counterpart. The main difference being Akiytior lived for billions of years and their roots were fabled to be transdimensional, much like the native coral species of TARDISes. They could only be found on time sensitive planets such as Karn and Gallifrey, as it was said they fed on time.

It was quite romantic, if you were looking for that.

“So you knew she was the Other?” He asked Jack, as he kept trying to find the appropriate thing to do with his hands at an event like this.

“No. I knew her when we were just kids.” Jack said wistfully. “She was always made for great things, that one, and not just because of her fantastic bottom.”

“So, she’s from Boshane too?” The Doctor frowned.

“No,” He smirked. “I guess she trusts me more than she trusts you.”

He wanted to argue. That felt wrong. He wanted to say he knew her best. That she trusted him most of all. But he couldn’t remember, so he couldn’t be sure... and that stung.

Jack walked away from him as Arkytior’s presence was announced.

She was wearing a red-gold shimmering silk dress that complimented the golden timelines swirling around her. She looked like a goddess.

“You look dazzling as always,” Jack said as he kissed Arkytior’s hand.

She grinned, which made her whole face light up in such a way that everyone must be drawn to her.

Ohillia gave a speech he tuned out as he wove his way to Arkytior.

“You are a goddess incarnate.” The Doctor kissed the back of her hands. For some reason that made her uncomfortable.

“I’m just a woman. I’d make a bad god. Too selfish, me.” She insisted.

“Shall we dance?” Jack interrupted, and led her away.

He was getting sick of Jack. He couldn’t get close to her again, and many of the Soothsayers gave him pitying looks. 

*

Rose turned from her dance with Jack to see the Doctor dancing goofily with the children in attendance. He did a few tricks for them, in his element. She couldn’t help but smile broadly at him when he turned her way. She pantomimed his drunken giraffe imitation.

He blushed and scratched at his temple.

*

He saw her near one of the waterfalls staring up at the stars and made a beeline for her only to find Jack had gotten to her first, pulling her close.

He hid behind a raised column to hear what they were talking about.

“It’s such a beautiful night, but it has never compared to you. I remember our first dance-”

“You tried to get me drunk,” She teased.

“I was trying to get you to talk.”

“You are the King of finding romantic locales to talk, I’ll give you that.”

Jack laughed. “I find it always helps to save a girl’s life first.”

Oh, the flirting, when would it stop?

“Oh, yeah. Worked for me. Worked for my husband.” Arkytior smirked. “The thrill of adrenaline and oxytocin works wonders.”

Oh. Really? The Others and Jack together?

“And then you saved my life, and keep saving it all the time, even when you aren’t there.”

“Yeah, not sure you should thank me for that.” She looked down.

Jack cradled her face to look at him.

“I do. I think you saved me like you saved yourself, for something greater. Us Immortals.” Jack was using his sexy voice. 

“Like what? The never ending cycle of saving the universe that seems hell bent on self destruction?” Arkytior sounded skeptical.

“For a chance at neverending bliss-”

Arkytior laughed bitterly. “Doesn’t seem I’ll ever be that lucky.”

“Marry me, and I promise to be true to you for the rest of our long lives and make you the happiest woman there has ever been.” Jack wasn’t joking.

The Doctor’s ears burned with the buzzing roar of his past selves’ rage and denial. It was like being hit with a Dalek ray. He had to brace himself against a wall as all his strength seemed to leave him and there was only the pain.

He stumbled back towards the drinks table lest he hear her response or other activities that occurred after proposals. This shouldn’t be worse than Jo leaving him suddenly. He had remembered Jo much longer than this brilliant woman who occupied his mind so thoroughly. 

He found the ginger beer that his hosts had so kindly offered. He needed his brain to stop functioning long enough for the pain to fade.

This was always the way it was for him. Always being too late to do anything when it came to his heart. He loved and they left. He loved and they found someone else. No matter the kind of love, it was always the same. He had brought her here to convince her to stay with him. To love him. And he was too late. For all his endless speech making, he never said the words in time. Never convinced those who mattered most to stay. Not his wife, not his friends, not Romana, not Rose, and not this one, either.

He poured the bottle directly down his throat. Screw propriety. 

He instantly gagged on it and spit it out.

“Who put alcohol in the ginger beer? It’s ginger! Isn’t that intoxicating enough for this lot? Who thought, ‘I know what this mind altering poison needs— more poison!’”

A few people looked at him as if he was crazy.

He checked the next bottle of ginger beer to make sure it was sans alcohol. He wanted to forget, not get wasted.

That was better. 

He glared back at the pitying looks as he strode back towards his TARDIS.

*  
“Come on, Jack. You’d never settle on one person-”

“For the right person I would. For you,” he said.

“We’ve never been like that-” Rose argued.

“Well, we should. We match. I’m tired of losing people.”

“Who did you lose this time?” She kept her voice soothing as she reached for his shoulder.

“Doesn’t matter.” Jack’s face crumbled as he turned away from her.

*

The Doctor was watching another rerun of Eastenders. Blonde Ronnie had decided to marry her business partner Jack who proposed at the gray wolf display in the Zoo.

“You’re my gray wolf, Ronnie. Let’s mate for life.”

Jack gave her an enormous flashy ring and they kissed. She gripped his hair as she pulled him down for a passionate kiss.

He groaned and threw his empty ginger beer bottle at the screen. Jack didn’t deserve her. He wasn’t a mate-for-life kinda guy.

“Didn’t think a party with comfort food from your childhood would depress you this much.” Arkytior was in the doorway.

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here, right?”

“Thought you and Jack would still be out celebrating.” He tried not to sound bitter but he wasn’t controlling his body well with all that ginger.

“He’s still out there. I’m sick of being asked what it was like meeting the Pythia and Rassilon.”  
She plopped down on the other side of the couch, dazzling as ever.

When Jack came back was she going to have sex with him on his TARDIS?  
His eyes widened in horror at the thought.

“If you need private time with Jack do it off the ship. This is a mating-free zone. It offends the TARDIS!” He lied with the least amount of squeaking.

Arkytior cackled. She hid her face on the couch and shook with mirth.

According to Legend she had helped create TARDISes.

“This TARDIS, just this one. Not all Tardises!” He amended his lie.

For some reason this only set her off more. He should be offended after the day he had had but she was just so beautiful when she was happy. Her face lit up even more even without his time senses.

“Liar!” She breathed. 

She tried to say more, but kept having to take deep breaths and wipe her eyes.

“Don’t see what’s so funny.”

“You. Are. So. Jealous!” She grinned with glee as she messed up his hair.

“Am not! You and your fiance can-” He didn’t want to even say it. It was just too wrong.

“My wha?” She suddenly had a Londoner accent.

“Your, you know. No one turns down Jack. No one besides me.” He grumbled.

“You need to be nicer to Jack when he comes back.” She pressed her bare toes into his side.

He growled. He couldn’t help it. She shouldn’t be with him. “I’ll be as nice to him as I’ve ever been, for your sake.”

“He’s had a rough century,” she sighed.

“Bet it’s better now.” He knew he sounded bitter. 

Arkytior shook her head. “I’m not marrying him,” she touched his cheek. 

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

“But that’s great! I mean. Good for you. He’d be horrible at commitment.” The Doctor said.

“Says the commitment-phobe.” She shook her head. There was no malice in her words.

“I could commit if it was the right person. Would have, probably did.” Rose. How was he to move on when everything reminded him of her. He only had this one regeneration left. He couldn’t waste his time with regrets.

Rassilon, but he wanted to kiss her. It was stupidly impulsive and probably reboundy as he hadn’t known her long, as far as he knew, to feel this way. He’d just been thinking of Rose for goodness sake! Also she had never given any indication that she saw him as more than a funny, failed Timelord. 

He was sick of not knowing.

He looked down as he measured his words as best he could this far into ginger.

“At some point I share my memories with you here,” He tapped his temples. “Yet you don’t trust me enough to stop wearing that shimmer, lying about who you are to me.” He shook his head. “I know you were someone to me before. I can feel it in here. My mind buzzes with it. Just out of reach, and it’s driving me mad.” The ginger in his system made him bold.

“Oh, Doctor,” She took both of his hands in hers and scooted closer to him. “Look at me.” Arkytior commanded softly. “At our timelines.”

He frowned, but looked up. “Okay.”

“Tell me what happens when I change my mind.” She closed her eyes and concentrated. 

Suddenly timelines died all around them. Both of theirs were snuffed out. Most of them ended in death, not just his own, but on a massive scale. But it felt unnatural, as if they only led there as part of an old Academy test for time sensitives. It felt manipulated. There was a knot where there should have been light. The original timeline had been burned. Such a thing would take CIA intervention, and without Gallifrey it should be impossible. Time stacked like a severely broken fixed point.

His horror must have shown on his face.

“That’s why I can’t tell you my birth name. That was a timeline of me telling you. It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s my burden to protect the universe and time herself. I trust you more than nearly anyone, when we are on equal footing.” She sounded so earnest. “Not telling you is killing me faster than my grief.”


	15. Chapter 15: In between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Rose's backstory. This sucker is over 4,000 words long. Some laughs but mostly heartbreaking and gut wrenching so you know where Rose is coming from for the next part of the story.
> 
> After this it's   
> Texas Story (fluffy fun)  
> Rewrite of Doctor's Wife  
> Planet Asgard (River, Ponds, Doctor, Rose)

Chapter 15 Bliss

1,000 Years ago:

Rose bounced on her toes as she led her husband to the door of their TARDIS. “I found the perfect retirement home!”

“I don’t need a retirement home! I’m taking those anti-aging elixirs.” Corin objected, looking younger than his 75 years. 

She giggled in delight.

Rose only looked thirty, which is why he had made her the adjustable shimmer that made her look older, keeping overly curious paparazzi and Earth scientists at bay.

He found himself inside a cottage with walls that looked like they were made of Cadonwood. “Have you been building?”

Rose shook her head and led him to the front door and out.

He took a deep breath and spun around. “Is this? No- this can’t be Gallifrey.”

“It is! Right where it was.” Rose babbled. “In this universe, Rassilon died in the Vampire Wars so it’s still ruled by the Pythia, but look how beautiful!”

He gaped and ran his fingers through his chemically-enhanced auburn hair. “But, But that’s impossible! There is only one Gallifrey amongst all the universes-”

“Oh, yeah, just as impossible as seeing you once I got stuck here.”

“But this is,” his eyes watered. “Brilliant!” He swung her around before kissing her passionately to the amusement of passing villagers.

She laughed, too, and drank in his joy and pride in her over the bond.

They brought their four children so the Doctor could teach them all about the local wildlife and planet. They spent another hundred years bringing Timelord technology to Gallifrey. Most of their children ended up marrying locals.

They held a retirement party to mark their turn to finally relax as they passed responsibilities for maintaining the web of time to their children. Their whole family, including her elderly brother and his children, celebrated in a field of flowers as the cadonwood leaves shone along a stream.

`Teacups rattled on tables as Corin and Rose felt a disturbance. Dread filled Rose. Her grandchildren were running about somewhere. They could get hurt. They were on the most protected planet in the universe, in a peaceful era- this shouldn’t be happening. If it was the Chronons trying to invade, her brother would never let her live it down.

Instead, a time fissure appeared. They looked at each other.

“Isn’t that Wizard. Can’t seem to get a day off,” Corin sighed.

“Should have scheduled it with the universe,” She teased.

“Shouldn’t have called it a retirement party, that just jinxed it. It’s like we've never watched a cop drama.” He groused.

“Might as well say ‘nothing bad could happen today.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Corin said as Rose rolled her eyes. “No, really this is very not good. Time fissures are never good.” He scanned it with his sonic.

“I’m getting too old for this.” Rose sighed. She was quoting but it seemed to fit.

“Not with that body.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively 

Their 20 year old great-granddaughter, Arkytior Susan Tyler, appeared behind them looking like a human child half that age due to Part Gallifreyan biology.

“Grandma?” Of course this one couldn’t stay out of trouble.

“Go back!” Corin warned. “

She wasn’t quick enough and was scooped along with them into the time scoop that reached through the fissure.

“Is this...?” Rose looked around to find them in the wastelands of Gallifrey.

A crowd cheered as an alien she didn’t recognize died.

Corin scowled. “Death Games.”

He grabbed her hand to transfer his memories of what that meant. It was an effort with the telepathic dampeners in place, but direct contact with a bond was nearly impossible to stop.

All sorts of aliens were struggling to survive against nightmare beasts.

They heard a whimper. “Susan.” Rose cried as she rushed to her and slid on the shimmer bracelet that would make her invisible. They had to keep her safe. “Plan 42 C.”

“We’ve dealt with worse.”

“Together.” She promised as she glanced at his eyes to read his plan. 

They were an unstoppable force together, so intune over the centuries.

They gathered the combatants to take on the system together instead of playing by Rassilon’s rules. Soon they were in Rasillion’s tower, and his council was panicking. 

“The Death Games end now.” The Doctor commanded, tossing the device he’d use to teleport his guards to Karn.

Rassilon scanned them. “You are and aren’t Gallifreyan. Impossible. You’re something else. Some other-”

“Hey, look! I may be ‘inferior’ to Space Lords, but I do know how to release atron energy.” Rose called over the com, across the planet.

She couldn’t lose her bondmate. They had fought so hard, so many times to get back to each other. She couldn’t live without him anymore. 

“It’s impossible- we have telepathic dampeners-”

“We don’t need telepathy to know what the other is thinking anymore.” She shrugged.

*  
_Her mind skittered past the intervening memories, to sending her granddaughter to the Doctor as she hid her identity by chopping off her adorable pigtails. This time period was too dangerous for any of their family._

“He won’t know you, but we will leave a way home where the Doctor drops you off. Promise.” Rose said as she embraced Susan and handed her a timering.

“Untraceable.” Corin agreed.

“I just want to go home,” Susan had argued.

*  
 _Her mind was filled with the horror of Rassilon using the Axis to destroy every other Gallifrey so they couldn’t stop him._

_She held her husband’s hand at the bitter joy that their Gallifrey had never made it to the list of parallel worlds._

*  
To the murder of her few friends of the time, after she shuffled the followers of Pythia off world before the Cleansing.

“A being of such power shouldn’t be bound to a short lived mortal.” Rassilon had told her. 

Is that why the Doctor had left her with Corin?

They had known for a while now that she would outlive him. Corin had apologized profusely that he hadn’t known. Now she would know what it would be like to watch someone wither and die and be forced to live on.

“He is worth any pain I will have to endure.” 

“You deserve to be bound to someone as powerful as yourself. Think of what we could accomplish together.” Rassilon’s foul breath hit her cheek.

She had been afraid to tell Corin, lest he agree that she deserved better. It was her mistake. Her fault.

*  
 _Her heart squeezed and her vision blurred as she was transported back to the day Rassilon  
had murdered her husband in front of her, tearing her bond and mind apart just so he could force a bond on her._

The burning rage engulfed her as he attacked her mind to control her, to invade her most private thoughts and memories. She growled as the Bad Wolf was released, burning through each of his regenerations as his minions looked on. She drank in her prey’s screams. “You are tiny. You will lose- forever!” She screamed till her voice was raw, until even reality tore and melted, revealing the time vortex.

The Untempered Schism, they would call it, and all who looked in would see this moment of his defeat time and time again, so every Time Lord could see what a monster she was. Fortuna dealing out justice to those who had offended her.

She was burning out, and that was fine so long as her love was avenged, preferable to being separated from her love again.

The fire within her wanted to keep burning until every universe knew her pain. It wasn’t fair! She had sacrificed so much and spent her life making the world safer, and she couldn’t keep the one thing she needed to keep going. She was starting to lose control of the vortex as it consumed her. Everyone that could, messed with time. Tearing in and out of the vortex’s skin as if the natural decisions and flow of time weren’t enough for the greedy travelers who thought they knew better than the eternal element of time. These Time Lords would wreak through her and claim a dominance to reality that they didn’t deserve and enslave her precious TARDISes and force her reapers out of their home to fix their messes. They let chronovores in! They would create anti-time bombs- they must be punished! They must be stopped! She couldn’t let the wolf who howled in her mind calling himself have what it wanted. She had lit a wildfire to keep her enemy away, but it had now spread so far that she couldn’t snuff it out with her body alone and the smoke of it made it harder to breathe or think. She had to stop it as her body shook. Even if it destroyed her. Come back to me, fire, and burn me up instead. Chain the leviathan to my back. Rassilon had never wanted the woman. He had wanted to control the leviathan.

She only woke when she heard Corin’s voice inside her mind, summoning her to him. She didn’t understand how he could still love her. She had murdered, and enjoyed it. She didn’t even feel bad about it. She had released a monster.

She limped to the Matrix he had infiltrated and rested her mind in it, as her body deteriorated. What was a body but a meat bag of pain and distractions from moments with her love?

Somehow the Matrix kept her alive. That or mourners of the Other kept her body going. They could have kept her alive as a potential weapon if Rassilon the Tyrant or others invaded their planet. Gallifreyans were immensely practical. She didn’t care, as the years passed.

Corin encouraged her to live again.

“You’ve got so much living left to do, love. Don’t waste it. I’m still out there somewhere and I’m going to need you.”

“I promised I’m never going to leave you,” she said.

“I can be transferred to a TARDIS Matrix once my brother is born and you convince him to. But you can’t spend all that time stuck in a fancy computer.” His projection touched her face, but she could barely feel it. So close, and yet never close enough to touch. “I need you out there.”

“I don’t want to go. Just let me stay by your side until you’re in a TARDIS.”

“I need you at my side out there. I knew you, in my first life, and without you I never would have gotten the courage to steal a TARDIS and become the Doctor.” 

“Why did you never say?” Rose asked.

“I hadn’t put together until recently and even then I didn’t know how it would happen. You looked different but you called yourself Arkytior, Rose, in Gallifreyan. Now we know why it became such a popular name on this planet.” He gave a sort of laugh.”With all my memory blocks fallen now that I'm in the Matrix, I can see you've been with me all my lives.” He looked so proud of her, but also sad.

She rubbed her face. He was still out there, waiting for her. Solid and real and needing her. “It’s still not right.”

“Thank you for your loyalty, my hearts. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and the only one I’ve ever loved. But you can't stay here. I don’t have enough power to keep your body going indefinitely.” He pleaded. “I couldn't have lived my lives without you. I’m so, so sorry, my hearts. Please live, For me?”

She had cried, but started eating what was left for her and stretching. She started leaving for just long enough to shower, eat, and take care of the bare minimum of her body’s other needs. It took months for her muscles to be strong enough to escape. Strong enough to find the Doctor again, as seemed her fate to always be the one finding instead of being found. Without her, he wouldn’t become the Doctor.

Rassilon’s minions no longer guarded the Matrix. But they would be upstairs.

On the day she was to go, he transferred his memories to her in a thought hypercube to access so she could eventually help him.

“No guards down here, but bet there are a hell of a lot of them up there and I don’t want to kill anyone.”

“Oh, you’re brilliant enough to do better than that. Remember, you can call me anywhere in the citadel. Give ‘em hell.”

She couldn’t leave the planet without breaking her last connection to Corin. So she stayed.

She changed her name and stayed in a village who knew who she was. She taught the Outsiders to be good, to not believe the lies of Rassilon. She pretended she was Gallifreyan convincingly enough from her years in retirement.

Eventually Rassilon's minions found her and murdered the entire village to maintain the legend of Rassilon and their power, and to punish her. Every child burned in her eyes, even after all this time, while her mind shied away from it. It grayed out but.... She had tried to die with them then. Why couldn’t she have died? Instead she seemed doomed to wander, never staying too long lest those around her die for harboring her. Existing. She used the shimmer enough to no longer remind herself of Rose, lest the pain overwhelm her completely. She could pretend to be someone else. Someone who hadn’t lost everything. 

Had her husband lied about him needing her just to keep her alive? He used to send her away a lot to save her life. 

She started attending Otherstides to remember him, as holograms of Corin decorated town squares on his birthday. At one Otherstide she met Theta, a student at the Academy who reminded her of someone she had lost. He made her laugh. She could pretend to just be a person, not a legend or failure. She had failed so many, and none so badly as her husband. She should have seen it coming and protected him. Taken him off world.

It was his blue eyes that had convinced her he would be her Doctor long before the familiar brush of minds. She had tried to encourage him to be compassionate to other species and encourage him to reach the stars as Corin had told her she would.

She hadn’t expected to fall in love with him again. He would be her Doctor, but not yet. Still she found herself loving her goofy carefree Theta of Lungbarrow.

“I was bonded once, never again,” she told him when he proposed a bond along with a marriage. Partly because it was true, partly because she knew he would be single and unbonded when she met him.

One day, she had to leave him too after The Council had come to their little village scanning for The Other. She had failed the Doctor in his old age, she couldn’t fail him in his youth. The universe wouldn’t continue without him. So, yet again, she had to give him up and break his hearts, breaking her own again, as well. She cursed Corin in that moment for telling her that his first wife had left him in his memories. If he hadn’t, she wouldn’t have to do it. Wouldn’t have to become this to him. She never should have survived Corin for her Doctor’s sake. She should never have to be the reason he would be so scared of love and commitment.

“I promise you will see me again! When you need me most, I will be there.” After the Time War.

She wanted to die yet again, but the timelines needed her. She just had to exist until the Time War so she could save as many as possible and die that way. Dying by her own hand when she could save at least some of his people and reduce her love’s burden would be a betrayal. She had failed him so many times, she owed him this. She couldn’t be a coward.

She spent most of the next hundred years in her TARDIS, going to any planet that wouldn’t remind her of any home she had had, or of him. She helped where she could, but she deserved to be alone where she couldn’t hurt anyone by association. Even when she was able to transfer Corin to her TARDIS it wasn’t the same. It was a half life.

She could still help her love. She had the citadel bugged. She heard the plans to kill her Doctor in his second life for being rebellious by trying to help others. She stopped them with her fearsome reputation and the truth that TARDISes would never exist if he wasn’t alive to meet her in the future.

When it got to be too painful, she found herself running into him again and again. Just enough to keep her going long enough to fulfil her penance for Corin’s death and all the deaths Rassilon had caused with their help. She always apologized that he had to block his memories of her visits, but he always did. He always wanted to see her again. These Doctors saw her as the wife who had fled to the stars. They knew her a little, but they didn’t truly know her either. Didn’t know her real name or where she came from, besides Earth. They didn’t know the long life she had led before him, outside of tiny snippets. 

He was her Doctor, and yet he wasn’t. Not yet. Not fully cooked. She asked her TARDIS to bring her to him when he would need her the most, even if it means he wouldn’t know she is there helping him. 

It was good that it hurt, though. She deserved it. If she had never taken him to parallel Gallifrey, they never would have been picked up by the time scoop, and Corin’s last years could have been happy instead of haunted. He could have lived much longer, surrounded by their grandchildren, and died peacefully in his sleep on his own terms instead of murdered for being bonded to her.

“Wake up!”

She gasped into wakefulness, her eyes red and puffy from her tears. Her voice was scratchy from her screams.

The Doctor removed his hands from her temples.

It wasn’t any better to be awake. He was so close, but he would never be hers again. She couldn’t touch his mind without risking him noticing their partial bond and the gig would be up. The concern in his eyes wasn’t for her. It was for practically a stranger. Any smiles in her direction wouldn’t be for her. They would be general-companion-smiles. They wouldn’t be his special Rose-smile. She might as well be a ghost. She turned her dead eyes away from him and rolled away from him.

“TARDIS told me you needed help.”

She nodded.

“I’ve had those kinds of nightmares.” 

She knew that. Hers were different, because he had hope and his brain was made to handle thousands of years of horrors. She didn’t have Academy training to compartmentalize it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He didn’t seem excited at the prospect, but he was trying to be a good Doctor who cared for his companion’s wellbeing.

She shook her head. “Waking isn’t any better.”

“How about we pick up the Ponds, Eh? Go somewhere nice? I’m sure we could all use it. The Amusement Parks on Asgard are supposed to be the best in the galaxy.”

“Yeah.” She croaked, going through the motions of being alive. Muscle memory took her to the restroom and closed the door. The mirror was helpfully misted so she didn't have to see her real body. 

When she came out of the shower in nothing but a towel, the Doctor was there with a cuppa and some chocolate mousse cake.

She dropped her towel and turned around to grab her clothes. She could feel his eyes on her. It wasn’t anything unusual. Once she had on a bra, t-shirt, and boy short underwear she went to sit next to him at the cottage table. His eyes were wide and glassy.

Whatever. Nothing mattered. After finishing her cuppa, she started on the cake.

“Thanks.” Her words were also autopilot.

"It was my pleasure." He turned bright red and started babbling, "not that it was pleasurable-"

He was acting weird. Cuppa in the morning after a shower was their normal routine.

*  
The Doctor had not expected her to drop her towel right in front of him. He had changed into clothes in front of the Ponds the one time, but not like this, and he hadn’t had the soft bits all exposed. Now, however, they were burned into his mind.

Time Lords weren’t as tempted by exposed skin as humans were. After all, skin and bodies changed, but it didn’t mean he was completely immune when there was emotional attachment involved.

He was here to comfort her. The brief glimpses he had had of her mind when he had helped her awaken were the same sort of horrors in his own.

“What?” Arkytior commanded, crossing her arms over her ample bosom.

“You were naked.” 

“It’s just a body. It’s not even my body. This isn’t even what I look like.” She gestured at her body and then adjusted her shimmer settings. “For one these,” She gestured at her bosom. “Are actually much bigger-”

He blushed as his brain filled with what that might be like.

“And I’m shorter, and more attractive.” She ran her hand through her head to prove it wasn’t real. She said all this as if she was stating something boring. She still had that shellshocked monotone. “This might as well be flesh colored clothing for all you can see.”

“It doesn’t look like clothing.” He added, grabbing his own tea to keep his hands busy.  
She nodded, but still seemed to be disassociating. He had seen plenty of it in the war.

“Fancy a jellybaby?” He held out red ones to her.

She mechanically took one and put it in her mouth. Any moment now.

Her eyes widened at the hot cinnamon flavor, hopefully helping ground her with the strong sensory stimulation.

He came around to her and covered her shoulders in a heated fluffy blanket that was infused with Rosemary, clove and other invigorating scents that should further ground her.

She pulled it around herself, even if it was absently.

“Hug?” He offered. If he was too wordy she would tune him out.

Tears filled her eyes. That was good. Not that he wanted her to cry but the release might do her good. Feeling something was better than the gray emptiness.

“Come back to me?” He requested with open arms, gratified when she leapt into them. She ignored the blanket to smell at his neck. “I’m quite good at impressive speeches this go around if you’d like to hear about how I survived the war. Not sure how to replicate it.The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant. So whatever you saw or remembered, it can’t take away from the joy of a hug or the taste of chocolate unless you let it. I have to remind myself that there is still good to experience and do, so long as I keep moving forward and remembering the best can happen again. ”

“I don’t deserve good things.” She said into his shoulder.

“Rubbish. This wise girl once told the killer of his own species that he deserved chips. And chips are good. “ He smiled in fond bittersweet memory.

RIght. Back to his point. He cleared his throat.

“I can still make better choices. She taught me that. It’s why I always give my enemies the chance to change. Whatever you did-”

“I murdered a man. And I enjoyed it.” That wasn’t what he had been expecting.

“Oookay.” The Doctor said, letting that revelation swirl around in his mind. He changed tactics. This was the sort of self hating thing he would have said and she didn’t strike him as the River type. “Just for kicks then? Or money? Is that why you don’t carry anything lethal now?” 

It’s why he didn’t.

“No. “ She admitted. “He murdered my husband to violate my mind so he could control me.” He could hear the lingering terror and disgust in her voice.

Well. There was a story. It would explain a few things. He tried not to think of this woman he knew being attacked so violently. Being terrified in her own mind. The most heinous of crimes to force a bond on someone. Attacked while she was grieving even! It built up his own rage. She’d already killed the monster so it’s not like you can. Focus Doctor. This isn’t about you.

“I thought so. You haven’t struck me as the murder for fun type. Not a Dalek or a Sontarian or a psychopath. “ He kept his voice light before becoming earnest. “You must know any telepathic species would call that self defence. Or justice.” He put his hand on her covered shoulder.

“Why are you trying to make me feel better?” She asked. “I deserve-”

“Ah yes! I am very fluent in self hatred.” He interrupted, handing her another cup of tea to distract her thought from going down that path he knew so well.

She put the tea down.

“I’m the Doctor. I've seen many unforgivable things and many monsters. And let me expertly tell you you aren’t any of those. You are forgivable and I forgive you.” He said, trying not to let on how much she meant to him. Forgiveness had been granted to him by Rose. She wasn’t Gallifreyan, so it hadn’t truly absolved him, but it had saved him long enough to keep going until he found a better reason. The reason had been Rose. “And I think you’re worth saving.”

“With tea and treats?” She scoffed.

“Tea once saved my life, don’t knock it.” He said around a jelly baby. “Don’t know if you are aware of that story….”

Much later, he made her lunch and they set off to pick up the Ponds. Another day to live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to TugboatG for her amazing work betaing. Her comments lead to this being twice as long as it started and a lot more emotional. Go check out her stories on Ao3!
> 
> Phew. Tell me what you think? That was exhausting to write. Reviews keep me writing and posting.
> 
> All the Rose feels for the Doctor as he ends up in the Tyler Rose garden.


	16. Tyler Rose Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week. It's time for another Chapter.
> 
> This will be painful for the Doctor but hopefully funny and fun for you the reader as they end up In Tyler Texas instead of Asgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I didn’t make up the names of any of the roses. They actually exist as does this location and the festival. Go google. Tyler Rose Garden and Museum. Those dresses though, wow. It's the Secrets of the Garden for 2021 so not too far off. I've always wanted to write 11 ending up here. Too much fun researching.
> 
> **HUGE Thanks to TugboatG for her amazing beta skills. When she betas the chapters end up twice as long from her comments, are more detailed and just 100X better. Go read her fanfics when you're done here.**

Chapter 16 Ignorance is Bliss

While the Doctor went to pick up the Ponds, Rose spent a few minutes adding to her mental hypercube package. Her husband had given her his memories in one and she was building one for this Doctor. Whenever she actually died it would be unlocked and he could access the full truth of his life and the once Rose Tyler he had cared for. Hopefully it would give him closure. She made sure to let him know in it that she wouldn’t blame him at all if after opening it he made himself forget it for his sanity. 

Not that she was looking to end her life right now, but with the life she lived it was better to be safe. It was kinda like a Confession Dial the Timelords prepared or a living will for humans that she had created with her first child. Some things had to be taken care, like where her TARDIS was and who to give it to and who to inform. 

Jack’s loss had reminded her of its importance. Not being told where your children had been sent after your lover’s death must be crushing.

Rose got dressed in jeans and a red t-shirt with “I can change the world, but first I need the source code.” She had stolen it from her husband meaning it fit snugly across her chest, as no amount of eating ever made him gain an ounce. She finished it off with a pair of sneakers. She couldn’t be bothered to wear something nicer. She changed settings on the shimmer to give herself makeup and an updo which she also didn’t want to bother with but might convince the Doctor and Ponds she wasn't so pathetic.

“I’m going to take you to the best amusement park in the galaxy,” The Doctor promised his excited friends.

So of course, that wasn’t where they ended up. She knew before they left that the TARDIS was in a mood to change the coordinates. She didn’t bother pointing this out as she wasn’t in a mood to stick around the young excitable couple, nor to bring them down with her melancholy. She had already planned her speech that she would’ split up with them to cover more territory’ with whatever crisis the TARDIS was taking them into. Hopefully it was one of those things where they run around a lot because something awful would happen in a short time frame. That was just the sort of distraction she was looking for. 

“Where are we?” Rory asked as he led the group out.

“This isn’t Asgard!’ The Doctor exclaimed into the garden of milling people drinking beer and wearing American country apparel. Others were dressed for a liberal ren fair. The designs were what he supposed Americans would think the medieval Europeans wore, except for sequins and gems on every woman, and not all of them could be royal enough for purple and crowns. He really hoped they weren’t wearing lead-filled accurate makeup.

“Are we in America again?” Amy asked as they heard _God Bless Texas_ blasting from someone’s car.

“Or a Texas reenactment on another planet, like New Las Vegas?” Rory asked as he headed up the steps of a museum to get away from the country music.

The Doctor sniffed and stuck up a wet finger. “Nope. It’s the real deal, October. Around your time period-” 

Rose had been looking at the Doctor instead of where he was looking when he stopped in shock. “No.”

She glanced up to see a big clear sign in black and read, “Tyler Rose Museum.” 

Her mouth dropped open. “Huh.”

The Ponds were already at the top of the stairs. 

“‘Fairytale Rose Festival’: Secrets of the Rose,” Rory read off a banner stretched across the entrance. “Sounds a bit romantic,” Rory took his wife’s hand to lead her inside.

Amy looked down at them. “What are you doing down there gaping like fish?”

Rose grasped his hand and pulled him after the Ponds before he said something embarrassing. 

Inside, the carpet was pink and looked like someone’s attic full of old pictures. In front of them female mannequins, in elaborate dresses that were ostentatious attempts at being royal, were displayed like the Crown Jewels themselves. 

“Those dresses are pompous enough to make even the Timelord Council object,” Rose commented. They were outrageous with capes and trains longer than a bride’s, and every bit was embroidered with detailed pictures such as roses and wolves, because of course they were. Her morbid curiosity was piqued. Just how far did this thing go? And why did it exist at all? Was it Bad Wolf?

Amy snickered.

“Back to the TARDIS. This isn’t an amusement park-” The Doctor growled.

“It’s a Festival! There will be food stands and people in fancy dress. Better than Asgard.” Amy pulled Rory out towards the garden by dodging past a fairy with glowing wings that moved independently.

The speakers started playing _Kiss by a Rose._.

Rory handed over forty dollars that he still had from their last stay in America. Hopefully this trip would have a lot less Alien Invasion. Mostly because this was the most bizarre place she’d been and she’d been to the planet of Hats. Was there a message for her here or-

“Do you think the TARDIS is having a go at you?” Rose asked the Doctor, who couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering about.

“Dunno. But she and I will be having words after this.” His voice seemed numb.

“Official Rose Tyler Judge?” The Ticket seller asked skeptically. 

He shook the psychic paper, “Official Judge of all English Roses and the Tyler Rose variety in particular. Got a Doctorate. Some people just call me The Doctor.”

She tried so hard to keep a straight face. Instead she handed over a twenty from her cell phone wallet, keeping her face down so hide her mirth as she got through the gate. 

“Still a cheap date.” She murmured to herself.

Once they were outside they were hit by the strong smell of roses in every color imaginable.  
The Tyler Rose, a fuchsia with golden yellow tips, was displayed in vases all across the wide veranda. Some of them seemed to glow gold with pink coming out from it.

“Nothing shows love like a genuine Tyler Rose. “ One peddler of that variety called.

Rory got a Tyer Rose crown for his wife to clip in her hair. 

“You will love the Tyler Rose.” The vender said, completely unaware of the Doctor’s discomfort. She took his hand in support.

A peddler came right up to the Doctor and put such a rose in his face. “You lika rose?” She had buckets of the flowers on her arm. So it really was a proper festival. Bit like holidays in most countries.

He looked stricken. She pulled him down the stairs through the crowds.

“Welcome to the City of Roses!” Another vender greeted who sold gold covered Tyler Roses.

“Tyler has the best Banana Rose tea in the world!”

“Come taste Rose Milk!” It had a planty aftertaste but reminded her of visits to India.

Rose flavored turkish delight. Rose flavored biscuits.

They all tried the Rose flavored Haagen Daaz ice cream and the samples of Rose flavored dark Chocolate truffles.

Both girls got rose designs painted on their face.

Telling venders that her name meant a type of Rose in her native tongue got her a ton of free stuff.

Honestly, she should come here on her own some time, dressed as herself with her old ID. She was sure she could score from nearly every vender if she could prove “I’m Rose Tyler at the Tyler Rose festival. Basically you’ve got a festival to me. Gimme!” Oh, her mum would have dragged her to every vender to get free stuff.

Had her Mom known about this place when she’d named her?

“Stop doing that!” The Doctor dragged her to the side after her flirting and line got her a free 24K Rose necklace.

“What? Scoring Free Stuff? That’s pretty much your MO.” Rose said as she put the necklace on. She considered changing her shimmer to a bouxom maid marion dress to see what she could flirt herself into if this unisex shirt was working so well.

“No! Telling people you’re named Rose.” He hissed.

“I’m not.” She argued carefully. She couldn’t do anything that would give herself away. Like telling him Arkytior translated to Rose lest he become less thick.

“Marion Harkness Rose Ale!” A vender called. They looked at each other in horror. The boothe claimed to be from Marion, Texas and named after the Marion Harkness Rose.

“I’ve gotta tell him.” Rose laughed.

“Don’t you dare!” The Doctor warned.

“Marion Rose vodka!” The Doctor visibly flinched at her middle and first name, as another yellow rose with red tips.

“I’m the Rose Doctor, come learn...” Another voice called.

Amy pulled them over to try Pink Rose lemonade. They bought Rose water toner for facials.

The Doctor scowled at everyone as if they were personally offending him. He pretended for the Pond’s that everything was fine, but she saw the cracks in his every flinch.

Signs unintentionally had her name everywhere. She saw the Doctor visibly flinch every time he saw them.

A sign for the Tyler Rose Parade that would occur tomorrow and a reminder that this was the largest rose garden in the country.

There was a schedule for the Coronation of the Tyler Rose Queen.

“Tyler’s Best Sweet Tea!”

Every Sign telling where the food was or how to get to another section of the 15 acres of the garden. Even Tyler Rose Loos that were apparently decorated with roses.

Why had the TARDIS brought them here? To remind her of who she used to be, or to tell the Doctor who she was even though it would break fixed points?

There was a lot of art. “Tyler Rose Masterpieces.” So much of it was paintings of roses. A few were of wolves with Roses in their mouths.

A local author had a stack of books “Bad Wolf; a retelling of Red Riding hood.” 

She passed a small wolf statue without bringing it to the attention of the others.

*  
Everywhere he looked were blatant reminders of Rose. It was hell.

He scampered away from the crowds to the Inspiration Garden only to be confronted by the woman herself. A tall Fortuna statue was wrapped in a long red hooded cloak in a poor rendition of Red Riding hood and covered in a heavily embroidered peasant dress. She held a gilded Rose instead of a cornucopia. It wasn’t the one he had sculpted himself as the hands and been added back on, skin and hair painted to look lifelike. A reproduction.

“Who paints statues?” Rory asked.

“It was common in the Roman era. The only reason they aren’t in the British museum is because most of the paint chipped off over the millenia.” He lectured automatically.

“Well it’s freaky. Like a real person instead of a statue.” Amy said, rocking from side to side to get the whole effect.

“Sculpted by a true master at any rate,” Arkytior said.

“Thanks,” He said as he jumped up to touch the cheek of the almost Rose.

“What are you taking credit for?” Amy asked.

“Because I sculpted the original. My name is on the bottom if the reproduction is at all accurate.”

“Of course you did.” Rory groused. “Not like we actually could check the bottom.”

Yes, her bottom was a masterpiece hidden by this silly costume.

“It looks just like her.” He should hate that they painted her, but it was like the real thing. Except of course her skin was stone cold like a corpse. He couldn’t cry in front of the Ponds, but he also couldn’t look away.

“Except the best bits are hidden by this superfluous cloth. Do you know how hard it is to get rock to look like flowing fabric? Also, She’d never wear this- no slits for running in. I spent a week working on her hands to get it just right and they got it all wrong. Look at these nails? Hah. She would have had short ones. Always biting them when she was nervous. Not sure why. “ He took her hand and found it didn’t fit right. They had gotten her hands wrong. “Also missing moles on this arm. Had a heart shaped mole right in this elbow. You can hardly see her favorite hoop earrings with this cloak. I can’t leave her like this.”

He set about fixing that problem by tossing the cape behind him and then grabbing the bottom of the skirt and pulling it up and off his masterpiece.

“Raggedy Man Stop! What are you doing?!” Amy sounded mad and embarrassed.

“Taking her clothes off. Obviously.” Humans could be so dense.

“If security gets called, I don’t know you.” Rory backed away from him towards the lady selling doll versions of his statue and mini versions of it, who admittedly looked rather cross.

“Oh... Jack would have a field day with this.” Arkytior whispered.

Once the outfit was off, he started pointing out the exceptional details that had been hidden. He ran his hands down her sides to remind these new hands what Rose Tyler had felt like. He had a mental Rose Tyler identification file with a list of her physical qualities, habits, exact timbre of her voice, and everything, but it was different to see and feel it. The tips of his fingers had missed this. He needed to have a copy of this in his Rose garden memorial on the TARDIS for when the need for a rose shaped hug overtook him. It felt wrong that these strangers who hadn’t really known her would come and go and judge her based on the limited skill of his masterful hands.

“ Two moles right above her chest. “ He pointed like the Rose Tyler expert he was. Rose Tyler, a field guide. “This pert bottom took me ages to get right.” He said with a pat to the butt.

Arkytior had her mouth covered, and he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Does River know you’re sculpting other women’s perfect butts, as well as fondling them?” Amy sassed him.

For unknown reasons, it set a fire within him.

“River doesn’t get a say in who I do and don’t love! This is mine! The only part of Rose that will ever be mine.” He cried out, wincing when his voice cracked at the end.

The Ponds’ eyes widened.

Oh.

He didn’t want to look at Arkytior and see her pity or judgement.

He ran off before they could ask more questions he didn’t want to answer.

*  
Rose waved the Ponds off as she gave chase to the Doctor.

It was messed up that this was the first time she heard the Proper Doctor say he loved her as Rose.

Either way, she couldn’t stand to be the reason he was hurting.

Any other man, she might ask them if they were alright, which was man code for “do you want to talk about it.”

But the Doctor would just say “ I’m always alright.” And she refused to be useless to him when he was so obviously hurting, and it was her fault.

“The TARDIS shouldn’t have taken us here,” she said as she approached him. “Not if it’s just to torture you with the past.”

He had slid to the bottom of a Japanese maple tree and she sat a few away from him.

“I didn’t even know this place existed,” the Doctor said as he pulled a doll out of his pocket. “All I can think is that I should have taken her here when I could have. She would have loved it.”

“I don’t know, can you imagine going to a Doctor museum with Merlin in an oncoming storm? Might be a bit much. Certainly a weird coincidence.”

He kissed the top of the blonde doll's head. Was it her, or was she wearing one of her outfits? Did he have a Rose doll? All this time she thought he’d just moved on.

“I could have been so happy, even if it was short. And instead I squander it with running away from what I wanted, so all I’m left with is guilt and regret.” He pulled the doll to his chest as if to give it a hug.

Of course the loudspeaker started playing _“The Rose.”_

_“Some say love, it is a River... I say love is a flower.”_

“Oh, Come on.” The Doctor moaned.

Rose agreed, it was too much for him to take. He had already broken down in front of his friends. For a timelord to show any emotional weakness in public was grounds for questioning their sanity. Emotions beyond superiority and disdain were for lesser species.

“It’s like they made a playlist of every song that happened to have Rose in it like a highschool mix tape.” She tried to counteract the heavy emotional music.

“Yeah.” He tried to look unaffected.

She moved until she was close enough to wrap an arm around his shoulders. “I’ve grieved so many people. You don’t have to act like it doesn’t hurt with me.”

She fought back the tears and her own guilt. If she cried, he would be obliged to comfort her, and this wasn’t about her pain. Her throat burned. He was hurting because she didn’t and continued to deny him the truth. 

His mental pain was such that she could feel it through their limited skin contact, and she was so tempted to say ‘screw it,’ go into his mind, and tell him she was here with him. She would have to make him forget. Wouldn’t that be more cruel? To remember someday that he’d known and had to forget?

The Doctor’s face crumpled. “It's the heart afraid of breaking that never takes the chance.”

He covered his ears but turned into her chest.

She didn’t think she had the strength to tell him he had to forget knowing who she was if he reacted to her half the way he seemed likely to. If he confirmed that he loved her and wanted her. She couldn’t deny him a bond she also desired.

“I was such a fool thinking that never telling her would make losing her hurt less. Because it didn’t. It still nearly killed me.”

“It was the same for me. I wanted to just die so many times after he was killed. I’m not dead, but I was only living when I was with him.” She confessed.

“Far beneath the bitter snow, lies the seed that with the sun's love, in the spring becomes the rose.”

Well that was rubbish. She had lived too much to become Rose again. 

“Everyone I know goes away in the end. Don’t know why I ever thought I could keep her with me. She made it seem like it was worth trying. But she’s gone now. Ras- I hope she’s happy. I really do. However everywhere I go, too much reminds me of her.”

He buried his face in his shoulder and gripped her shoulders.

“I know.” She wanted to reassure him that she was right in front of him, but she couldn’t. “ I see my Corin everywhere, too.”

“Corin. So much easier to say than the Other.” She could see him trying to distract himself from the pain.

“Do you think you’d be better off if you could completely forget her?” She asked.

“No!” He responded immediately. “Whenever I’m faced with moral issues, I ask myself what would Rose do?”

When she was younger and more idealistic, she might have been someone worth following but now? He probably would be disillusioned by her now that she had lost that brilliance.

“Well, sure. But I, I imagine by the end of her life she would have had to make some crappy choices because someone has to, just like you. Less Inspiring Sunlight, do you still think-” 

“I’d still need her.” 

Oh. Well. There wasn’t much to say to that.

“If you could talk to her right now, ” She asked. “What would you say?”

It was selfish, but she wanted this moment for herself. To hear his words directed at the real her. To finally have him talk to her.

“Sorry I’m an idiot and a coward-”

“That’s just putting yourself down.” Rose argued but tilted her head. “Although I would tell Corin about the same. Sorry for letting him down.”

“Yeah? His death isn’t your fault, and I bet those centuries of love and a bond would make up for any of it.”

“Yeah?”

“Wish I had had a bond with her, even if it had killed me in the end. It’s my last regeneration after all, and there so much I’ve never done. Got so close to asking her, so many times. But I’m a coward me. What’s the point without--She’s the only one I’ve ever loved like that.”

He pulled away and cleared his throat.

Don’t ask. Don’t “Even your first wife?” She tried for casual concern as she bit her nail.

“Heard of that, eh?” He said. “Bet the whole planet knew of my disgrace. It wasn’t that I didn’t care for her, but she clearly was just using me to pass the time. Refused a bond. Never allowed herself to get close enough to be loved. Still was more love than anyone had shown me till that moment, so what was young inexperienced me to think? But looking back, I see it.”

She heard his bitterness and winced. It was all her fault, well and his for telling her she was supposed to leave him.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that she didn’t feel the same.” She said carefully as she looked at the koi in the stream below.

He huffed. “Nice of you to say.”

Her heart ached for him. He just had to be young and attractive this go around, didn’t he? It made it so much harder to keep her hands to herself. She thought every Doctor was attractive, but it had been harder with Five and Eight. Nope. She couldn’t kiss him, especially while he was grieving. Kissing and... other activities... had been Corin’s favorite and most effective form of comfort.

“But look at you, you’re doing fine without either of them,” she reassured.

“Fine? Does this look fine to you? I still think about her all the time. “ He moved farther away from her and tore at his hair. “ I’ve gone back into her teenage years to be her substitute teacher just to see her face-”

His cheeks were wet and his words felt ripped from his lips.

“The last time I lost her I...did some bad things from the pain,“”  
“Wot. Really?“ When had that happened? 

He picked up the Rose doll tenderly, and put it in his pocket. Heaven help her, she had broken him enough that he had an unhealthy attachment to a doll that looked like her.

Rose winced at the further evidence of the scars her presence had on him. If she came back as herself, she would only make things worse. “So, you’re better off without her-“

For the first time she saw his rage turned on her.

“Don’t **ever** say that! I was always better with Rose. I wouldn’t have survived after the War without her. Don’t you dare ever insult her memory just because I fail to live up to it! I would give anything to be the one who got to stay with her. I’m only half the man-” He stalked away from her with shaking fists before turning around with all the dark fury, and hurt he was feeling all over his body language. “ You don’t get to judge me! You can’t tell me you weren’t reckless and dangerous when you lost Corin.”

She took a step back.

His words hit her heart like a dalek ray and stank of betrayal. She’d told him that in confidence this morning. It was like hearing Corin condemning her for what she did after his death. Had her husband only been kind in the Matrix to keep her from being a danger to those around her until he couldn’t stand what she had become? She squinted to keep the tears inside.

“Right. Done trying to help you feel better.”

“Oh is that what you call this poking of my wounds?” He wiped at his face.

Before more hurtful words could be exchanged, they found themselves faced with security, with the Ponds and the saleslady right behind.

“Right. I would like to lodge a complaint about your choice in music and selling of copyrighted materials.” The Doctor said, clapping his hands.

“That’s the guy who vandalized our statue,” Saleslady said.

“One could say you vandalized it by dressing it up to hide the sculptor's work.” The Doctor argued.

The Security guards didn’t seem to be buying it. “You need to come with us.” One kept his hand on the handle of his gun like a cowboy in a duel.

“We should run.” The Doctor whispered over her shoulder with his hands raised.

“Everyone else has guns in Texas, “ She reminded him. “Also we? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

That said, she passed a shimmer bracelet to his front pocket and she turned to face him. Even if she was furious with him, she’d never abandon him to his enemies. With this he might not get shot if he had to run.

“Bless you.” He said as he glanced down.

Rose walked towards the Ponds.

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper.

“I’m the Official Antiquities Inspector from The British Museum. I noticed you took liberties with the statue of the goddess Fortuna, and I needed to make sure no other liberties were taken. The Original Owner specified that it not be covered up.” He went to pat the security guards on the shoulders. “It’s okay. I might let you off with a warning instead of fining this lovely institution a million dollars because I’m feeling generous.”

He was wearing his Trust me, I’m a Doctor’ smile.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone finds out Roses secret, but problably not who you were expecting.

Chapter 17 Ignorance is Bliss

The Doctor was relieved when the security guards took him back towards the statue so he could prove his knowledge of it.

He winked at the Ponds who didn’t smile back.

“Yes, I’ve studied this statue in particular. It was created by a student of Michelangelo.”

“This was carved by Michaelangelo?” A security guard said skeptically.

“No, no this is just an altered copy. The original was carved from marble from Carrara, located on the northernmost tip of Tuscany-”

“I thought it was Roman.” The other guard argued.

“Rome is in Italy and only a few hours drive from Tuscany.” The Doctor looked at them as if they’d drooled on themselves. Honestly, it was their planet. “This is concrete, made from a plaster casting and then the hands were changed. Originally there was a cornucopia in this arm instead of this... flower or this hourglass that is spilling flowers out of it.” The less he said her name the better off he was in front of these people.

“And that's a problem for the British Museum because?” The sales lady asked.

“Like I said, the statue was in a private collection and was only lent to the museum on condition of not being altered in any way.” He lied fluidly. 

The saleslady paled. So either she made it or was related to who had. “Like I said, I could overlook this, this once IF-”

Oh he had her hook line and sinker. “The property set up a rule against taking photos of your statues. Can’t deny it’s been copied and altered with pictures of it all over the internet can I ?”

The staff shook their heads. 

“Oh, and a few copies and dolls to take for further inspection.” He winked at the saleslady who scrambled to package the items he asked for.

“Splendid.” He clapped his hands, with the bag of goodies on his arm. “We will just be off to inspect the other statues then. Come Along Ponds, Arkytior.”

This time they followed him away as companions should. Excellent.

“Good thing none of them are aware that there is over a thousand years separating the fall of the Roman empire and Michelangelo being born.” Rory said as they moved on.

“Yes. Good that.” The Doctor agreed with a nod.

Arkytior smirked.

“So I take it you took it back to the Roman Empire, but why?” Rory continued.

“Had to fix a causal loop. Took months to create it. Those ears were really tough I’ll have you know. If I hadn’t it would have created a paradox because I already knew it had to end up in the British museum and I couldn’t just steal it to put it there because then it would have been even older and the art historians would have had a fit about a four thousand year old Roman style statue being made when the pyramids are being built.”

He really hated Time loops. He had yet to meet a causal loop where something nice happened to him instead of just an emotional toll. He tried not to think of River. This was the Rose Tyler park afterall. 

“Okay. But who was she? Rose? Is that why you hate this place?” Amy asked with more sensitivity than she was normally known to have.

Usually he liked Amy’s endless curiosity. Not today.

“Obviously she was someone I cared about but lost. I thought you were brighter than that Pond.” He didn’t look back at her. “Can you cotton on, or do I need to explain everything to you like you were still a little child?”

Amy was not happy. Which was fine so long as she left his wounds alone to fester instead of salted.

“Her name was Rose Marion Tyler.” Arkytior added. She was always doing that. Adding details he didn’t think he needed to explain to his friends.

A series of understanding ‘Oh’s echoed behind him. Maybe now they wouldn’t ask anymore painful questions.

“Oh, no wonder you’ve been jumpy today. I've seen that name everywhere.” Amy gasped.

“Gold star.” He spat.

“We’re your friends, you can talk to us, you know,” Amy offered.

“I find it best not to think about all I’ve lost over my very very long life lest I never get back out of that gaping hole it’s all left behind. Go ahead and ask Rory how many friends he lost in those two thousand year outside your box. And that was hardly living. Go ahead and ask how the human made of plastic coped with that, and the guilt of killing you. You cope your ways and leave me to it, then.” He scowled. He had gotten himself turned around with all these crowds.

“Y’all get your hot Ex-wife here!” A vendor with a ‘Stanley’s BBQ’ sign above him called.

The Doctor was so startled that he stopped where he was, which led to Arkytior stumbling into him.

“Was Rose Tyler your wife?” Amy asked rudely.

He growled. He just wanted to get away from all these reminders. “Probably. Maybe. I’m not sure.”

“How can you not be sure if you married someone?” Rory asked.

“Because he split himself in half and his human regeneration was left in a parallel world with her which he can’t go back to. I’ll explain what I know of it later if you’ll stop picking his wounds right now.”

He was grateful he didn’t have to say it but at the same time bothered that the Ancient Other of Gallifrey knew so much about his history. He hadn’t told anyone in this universe what had happened and Donna didn’t remember it. Wasn’t anything private?

Rory nodded, but bought himself a BBQ sandwich while they were close to the vender. They then passed so many fried foods that it was a bit shocking. Who fried butter?

“Look! Fried Butter! Fried Biscuits! It’s practically Scotland.” The Doctor changed the subject, hoping to distract Amy from asking more questions.

Amy got in line at a stand. Her face told him that they would be discussing this later. Fat chance.

“Doctor.” Rory asked. 

“What now?” He groused.

“We’re at a festival named after your ex that happens to have a statue you carved of her that no one should be recognising as related, but is. That’s as coincidental as me turning into a Roman after Amy spent our childhood obsessed with them.”

He scowled. “Don’t try to give me hope just because you think it would make me feel better. Because having and losing hope is so much worse.” He walked towards a quieter area. “Besides this is just her MO. See references to her everywhere. She was a goddess once and scattered her goddess name all across space and time to lead her to save my life. Now it seems it’s just her real name.”

“Your life is not half mental, you know that. Dating a goddess.” Rory said.

“Need a loo.” Arkytior interrupted.

“Loo?” The local she turned to asked in confusion.

“I’m looking for a public toilet.” She clarified.

“Oh, over yonder hill past the face painting station.”

*

Rose was glad to make her escape. She just needed a few minutes where she didn’t have to put up a front and just let herself process what had happened.

She let herself cry in the bathroom stall, a time honored tradition of women everywhere. But she wasn’t sad. She was angry. She was frustrated. It wasn’t fair to be tortured with what she wanted and have to push it away. Unlike the Doctor, she wasn’t doing it because she would outlive him and was terrified of people leaving her. She was _dying_ to tell him, to finally be free... but he would die if she did. Everything would. Bloody timelines. She didn’t like keeping secrets from the Doctor. It wasn’t fair. She let her head hit the cool metal partition. Oh, but she just wanted to hit something. She needed to blow off some steam before she did something stupid, like snog the Doctor who didn’t know who she was and would probably complain and kick her off the ship. Which was probably for his own good. Hmm. Not the worst idea. But consent was important! Rose Tyler did not accost people. Also the universe ending was bad. She was stuck between letting the Doctor be in agony or being happy until all the timelines unraveled and the universe ended. She knew he would probably choose the universe ending, because he had never been sensible when it came to her. Which meant she had to be the villainous adult making the hard choices. She had the power to make it all better for him, and she couldn’t. Why did it have to be this way? They couldn’t even reunite on an abandoned street without someone getting killed or split in half. They couldn't even have a relaxing retirement after centuries of universe saving and stay out of big historical events. It wasn’t fair! She just wanted to be with her love without it being complicated or world ending. For once! She growled and hit the door as she cried.

It popped open. Because of course it did.

“Oh, bless your heart!” A middle aged woman said to her from the sink’s mirror. “What no account fella’s done _you wrong?”_

“The universe apparently. Don’t suppose you know somewhere I could hit something really hard?” She washed her hands quickly.

“There is a ax throwing booth and target shooting is near the queen’s court right next to Andy’s frozen custard.”

“Sounds perfect.”

She splashed tepid water on her face. Without her, his previous incarnation had gone mad with grief... This one was still sensitive about all of it. He had actually cried. 

She checked her face for mascara streaks only to remember she hadn’t bothered with makeup today.

PumpJaxe was easy enough to find. “$10 for 5 throws. Hit the mark 4 times to win a stuffed animal for your lady, hit all 5 times and win a genuine Stetson!”

The proprietor made some sexist remark about how a pretty little thing like her might want to leave the ax throwing for the men-folk. He didn’t say it, but she could just see the follow up remark about her breaking a nail or something.

Perfect. Extra motivation. “This isn’t my first rodeo.” 

She imagined the first target was Rassilon's face, the second was River’s, and so on until she found she had hit all the targets.

Some girls behind her made comments about girl power, and there were a few impressed whistles from the men. Of course there were also older women literally clutching their pearls, a comment about her being practically a man and the leers she could have done without.

Jon, the vendor laughed. “Woo-whee! You’re one helluva woman, ma’am. Glad I’m not the one in your sights.” He handed her a stetson with a living deep purple rose, which she immediately donned.

Eager men jostled to the front of the line eager to prove that they could do better than a little British girl could. Poor fragile male egos. 

Despite all that, letting out some of her rage had felt good. 

The Doctor had wanted a bond with her, no, he still wanted a bond with her, which made her telepathic centers tingle. It was practically a proposal. That evidence might mean that he still loved her. What would that mean for their possible future? Maybe someday after River had finished her timeline with the Doctor so far as he knew and gone to the library, she could tell him and they could be together again, if these feelings lasted. That was something to look forward to. A first in centuries, to have something to look forward to in her future. A set end to this constant loneliness and lying. If he still wanted her then, but then it could be settled one way or another. It had to be better than this limbo.

Maybe she could just get in her TARDIS and skip to that point in his timeline to find out? Was that why the TARDIS brought them here? Rory was right that it couldn’t be a coincidence.

But that day just couldn’t be today. Today she had to act like she wasn’t still in love with him. Which would require some help.

Mind made up, she kept avoiding the Doctor when she saw him. She devoured a pear tart, and stopped by a homemade chapstick booth to pick up and apply a spiced pear flavored one. Once applied she would be safe. A pear a day to keep the Doctor away.

“There you are!” She felt the Doctor’s hand on her shoulder. “What was that all about? We need to get out of here. What are you wearing?”

“I wear Stetsons now. They’re cool. Around here anyway.” Rose replied with a tip of her hat.

“Ooh!” This Doctor had a thing for hats. He rubbed his hands together and reached out to steal it from her when she grabbed his wrist. 

“Nope. My hat, which you could borrow if you kissed me.” She teased as their faces were now close together. Close enough to kiss as she wanted to. She could feel herself drawn to him and visa versa but then his brow furrowed.

He sniffed. “Is that pear I smell?” He looked disgusted.

She laughed.

“Yup. I’m wearing pear chapstick AND just ate a pear tart.” She smiled with her tongue out.

“Oh, gross! I got pear breath on me!” He backed up, nearly stumbling in his haste while rubbing his face of that pear flavored air. He threw a cinnamon flavored jelly baby in his mouth.

“The Doctor hates pear.” Rose told his friends.

Amy laughed.

Rory caught her eyes and nodded a thank you for this very important knowledge of how to keep the extra touchy feely doctor at bay.

“Still want this hat?” She teased puckering her lips.

“No, thanks. I’ll find my own.” He said with disdain.

She smirked.

“Hah! Then we could match.” She smiled wide.

Amy rolled her eyes. “They’re ridiculous; you’re not cowboys.“

“Don’t suppose you have any extra of that chapstick?” Rory asked as soon as the Doctor was gone with Amy.

She handed the other over with a smirk. Oh. There was a thought. Gift pear chapstick to River. A thank you for saving my husband’s life but hands off and I wish you no success in trying to seduce him.

“Thank you! You’ve no idea how many times he’s kissed me when he’s excited about something.”

“What, really?” Guys had never been his type.

“He will kiss anyone around him, and... is that a new trait? Was there a time when I wouldn’t be accosted?” Rory asked.

“None of his other bodies would. His last body was a hugger though. He’d usually warn the unsuspecting about it before hugging.” She thought fondly.

“Great. I got the kisser.” Rory deadpanned.

Rose patted his shoulder in sympathy.

Rose’s mind wandered to scenarios where she could get The Doctor to kiss her without it meaning anything. 

“Did you know Rose?”

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish and she looked back in the direction the Doctor had left.

“I’ve loved Amy my whole life. She is literally the only woman for me, ever. I waited 2,000 years outside a box to see her again, to keep her safe. And I guess I never saw the Doctor as someone like me. Most of the time he acts like an excited ten year old. But that is all a front you know.”

“I know.”

“I’ve noticed that. You really seem to know him very well. I see you balancing out his rashness, as if you’ve been doing it forever, without making him feel bad about his mistakes.”

Rose nodded.

“See, how I see it, the TARDIS didn’t bring us here on accident at all. There were the wolves and Roses on wolf planet, you freaked out just like he did at this place and I’ve seen you get jealous of River-”

“I’m not-”

Rory looked her straight in the eye. “So what I can’t understand is why you’re hiding from him, Rose Tyler.” 

Rose just gaped. “I, I can’t.” She hissed. “He has some history to come with River and I can’t interfere with that or the universe collapses. She died to save his life before key events and told him they were married in the future so his hands are tied to keep the universe from imploding. You saw how he was with mere references to me. He can’t fulfil his part of the causal loop if he knows, Rory. You can’t tell him,” Rose pleaded. 

“Then why did the all knowing Time Ship bring us here?” Rory asked.

“The TARDIS and I are very close. I imagine she wants me to be happy and gets confused about the timing. All time is happening at once for her. Trust me, I’ve been asking myself that all day.”

Just then, the Doctor and Amy returned. The Doctor was true to his word and returned with a matching stetson, sans flower.

“Hello Doctor!” She greeted him overly loudly in part for Rory’s benefit.“Nice hat.”

“Thank you, M’am.” He said in his best southern accent. Outwardly he looked better, but she could tell it was just a mask.

They just had to get out of here before the TARDIS’s meddling was any more obvious.

So of course they passed a pile of stuffed “big bad wolves” that made the Doctor pause.

“Hello!” A local author greeted from the next booth. She looked desperately bored for company as she wasn’t signing any books yet, “Do you like bad wolves?”

“Sorry, what?” The Doctor asked.

Rose just scowled at the woman.

“In my retelling, Rose of the Red and Gold Hood is an adventurer who allows the wolf to consume her in exchange for the power to protect those she loves. Her beloved takes the wolf from her even though he is gravely injured by it, but is reborn from her tears.”

Rose and the Doctor became stock still.

“So, basically Tangled with a wolf.” Amy said from behind them.

“Nooo.” The author argued.

“Come on, Doctor!” Rose pulled on his hand “The TARDIS is trolling us.”

“Oh, we will be having words her and I. But, it’s a message. It must be! Else this whole place is just mocking me!”

The Doctor picked up the book and flipped through all the pages in a speed read.

“Is Bad Wolf anywhere else?” He looked around frantically.

Rose winced as everywhere that had said Rose Tyler now read Bad Wolf. It wasn’t because of some miracle to come, it was just invoking her leviathan, her time vortex wolf she had willingly fed herself to in order to save his life. It was just her being here and him saying the words. An incantation of sorts. But his face was filled with such awful hope.

“She’s come back to me somehow. My impossible woman. Always coming for me when I need her most.” He whispered heartbrokenly.

She enfolded him in her arms.” Maybe someday, but not today, Doctor. But that’s okay, because you’ve got your friends with you,” Her voice broke.

She was sure The Pond’s were looking at him with pity.

“Raggedy Man,” Amy began.

“No!” He pulled out of the hug. “Because you don’t know her like I do.”

Along with Amy, they led the Doctor away from this garden of pain. “I still believe in you.” He croaked. “You’re all I believe in, Rose.”

Rose felt her heart break for him again as tears broke free from her eyes. She stepped back and let Rory continue before she broke down herself.

As the TARDIS came in view he broke free. “Rose? You’re here, aren’t you? You’ve come back.”

“Maybe she’s in the TARDIS.” Rory lied for her.

“Yes, yes of course she-”

The doors shut behind them and she shared an agonized look with Rory.

“I’ve got mail!” The Doctor ran across the room, towards the hypercube that was floating above the console, distracted for a moment from his search, or believing the message was from her or was a clue to find her.

It broke her heart. But, wait. Hypercubes were Gallifreyan technology.

“What?” Rose gaped, chasing after him. Was it a trap? Had she sent herself back a message that could get them out of this mess? “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, as always to TugBoatG for her splendid beta ing. Her knowledge of Texan phrases helped more than what I could find via google.
> 
> We are going into a very different rewrite of The Doctor’s wife. It will include a canon Timelord. But are they friend or foe? Surviving on House takes a lot of cunning after all.
> 
> Next chapter will also go into the why Rose has had to hide herself. It’s not just a fear to overcome. Didn’t anyone else think the wedding of River song fixed point death of the Doctor was quite contrived?
> 
> After that we will get into the sort of season finale.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They head on their way to House, Rose learns some very important stuff. The Doctor's Wife will be very different.

Chapter 18 Ignorance is Bliss

“It’s from the Corsair! Maybe the message was that another of my kind exists, that would be so her to make sure I wasn’t alone or-”

Rose had vaguely heard of the Corsair as one of the renegade Timelords.

“Well, they need my help. It’s a distress call from one of my people-” He bounced on his toes.

“You’re not at your best, Doctor. You might want to take a break to get your head on straight, “ Rory suggested.

“But they need me-”

“Time Machine. We can get there early, but the humans need a nap before we head off into real danger, yeah?” Rose knew he might not take a break for himself, but the rest of them could see  
clear as day he needed it.

“Amy?”

“Uh, yeah. Long day. Gonna freshen up,” Amy went along.

“And I can look at the hypercube and come up with some plans,” Rose offered.

“ Right. Well then, off to the Zero room.” The Doctor walked backwards before fleeing.

“What’s the Zero room?” Amy asked.

“It’s a room with no sensory input that Time Lords use for all sorts of things really that require deep focus. They can slow their heart rate and rewire their brain to get more happy neurotransmitters just by focusing on it. Being out of control emotionally is a thing of nightmares for his species.” Rose answered automatically.

Rory looked intrigued. “No need for antidepressants when you can rewire your brain instantly.”

“Shitty mental health services when you’re just expected to rewire yourself instead of feel or talk about it." She said. Gallifrey would have had far fewer insane megalomaniacs if talk therapy were a thing.

“I’ve never seen him like that before.” Amy crossed her arms over her chest in concern.

Rose winced and rubbed her face, taking a deep, cleansing breath. 

“So who was she?” Amy asked, gesturing that they were back in the TARDIS and she had agreed to answer their questions once they were.

“Human. An old human companion of his that he left behind.” She played with the console to keep up the charade of talking about someone else.

Amy asked “Why would he leave her behind if he was this wild about-”

“Scared, I suppose. She’s in another universe where he can’t reach her, because he is well known for losing all sense of reason where her well-being is concerned. For a Time Lord in charge of protecting reality, a love that all-encompassing is dangerous. A universe away, he can pretend she never dies.” That was about the explanation Corin had given her.

“Well, that’s stupid,” Amy huffed.

Rose smirked, but kept her mouth shut.

“Come on, better put on our most practical clothes if this is to be a battle.” Rory distracted his wife.

Once Rose was certain she was all alone and out of earshot of the others, she turned on the TARDIS as she set coordinates for her ship in Amy’s parents yard.

“You hurt him! Why did you do that? If I left would you stop torturing the Doctor with my memory? Just let him be happy! “ She turned up to the rotor and made a firm promise. “If you do that again, TARDIS. I will leave to save him from this pain.”

Rose sent them into the vortex and kept overriding the TARDIS’s attempts to change their destination.

TARDIS growled.

“Seriously! What was this trainwreck about?”

The TARDIS showed pictures of her and this Doctor kissing, and the Doctor being happy.

“Sure, except he has to marry River for the causal loop.”

She sent pictures of her ramming into the causal loop and ripping at what looked like a festering wound in time that made her nauseous.

It’s artificial. Time Lord made. Not healthy time vortex grown timeline.

What? After he saved the Time Lords and Gallifrey they would be praising him not-

A picture of a gray-haired Doctor, angry on Gallifrey, and other Time Lords exiling one with Rassilon’s seal on like- Rassilon himself. Those creepy Silence that she just remembered and Stone Angels, a human army, and many of the Doctor’s enemies with Rassilon as a giant red spider, weaving a web with the thimble of Rassilon.

Rassilon! Why couldn’t he just stay dead already? Bile rose into her mouth. Had he figured out The Doctor was Corin or was he just being his old vengeful self?

“Oh. Okay.” Rose sat down on the edge of the console. With the thimble of Rasillion you could force a fixed point to be created. It’s not like she had some ancient artifact for undoing it. A Seam Stitch ripper of Omega would have been helpful in this case.

“I can’t just fix it, though.” Rose mourned.

*

Elsewhere, in a bubble universe, Narvin was searching through a TARDIS graveyard for parts. Without a living TARDIS matrix, they were unlikely to get him out of this universe. His Time Ring wasn’t working because there was nowhere else to go in this whole universe and this monsterous planet was planning to get rid of the oxygen soon enough until the next stupid Timelord got caught in here. 

He had to tell Gallifrey about this place, and get it written out of existence.

“It’s no use.“ Uncle, the franken creature, wandered towards him.“ There is no where to go.”

“Maybe you were helpless with your passable intelligence, but I am not.”

Think Think! Use all 26 Brains Narvin and forget about all those other 26 brained timelords who died here and were stitched into Uncle alone.

“Ah. That is where you’re wrong. I just can’t leave this planet’s universe.” Narivin fiddled with his Time Ring and the safety protocol cube of a decreased TARDIS. He didn’t have to get offworld. Not yet. His timesense was counting down to the end of all timelines in this universe in the back of his head.

He just needed to get far enough forward in time when the path out of here opened again and life support was turned back on. That was all. Just set it to search for a safe time to reemerge and...

House was lifeless yet again.

*  
When the Doctor was woken from his healing coma by the door being opened, he had assumed that it would be Arkytior there to offer some words of comfort or support. Instead, it was the nurse.

“It smells like roses in here.” Rory greeted.

“Yeah, it’s smelled like that the entire time I’ve had this ship. Never put together why until it was too late.” It was only being in this soothing room that didn’t let his mind spiral into despair that he was able to admit that.

Rory looked around. “Did you choose for it to be pink and yellow or..”

He winced. “It’s that color for the same reason it smells like roses. This is supposed to be the most relaxing room in the ship to help the pilot recover.”

Rory stared at him. “So, Rose was your Amy.”

“Excuse me?” Rose was nothing like Amy.

“The only girl for you.” Rory clarified. “I waited over two thousand years to make sure she was safe because there has never been anyone else I’ve ever loved or I imagine I ever will.”

The Doctor swallowed. “That about sums it up, yeah.”

Rose petals fell from the ceiling to further get across her point. Yes. Obviously he was never going to get over her, and anything with River was going to be a sham. He felt sorry for her. He was going to have to do his best pretending for a long time and would have to tell his real name to someone he didn’t love. He had hoped, in time, that he would get over her and find love again as the humans did. This manifestation dashed those hopes. He had had his one chance at real happiness and peace, and had blown it. Luckily this was his last regeneration, so he wouldn’t have to endure this promised loneliness for much longer.

Rory was watching him thoughtfully.

“I would do _anything_ to keep Amy safe.” Rory whispered like it was a revelation. Like they both didn’t know that after the Pandorica.

As he would have done with Rose.

The Doctor snorted. "Nearly destroyed two different universes to get her back, once. You might want to do anything for Amy. I _could_ do anything for Rose. Burned up a sun just to get two minutes on the phone to say goodbye. But she's happy and safe and she doesn't need me sitting here yammering on about her to people who can't ever understand. Come along, Rory Pond. Things to do."

He glanced around, but his bag of Rose dolls and mini statues had been placed in his room, his ship told him. Guess he’d have to deal with his doll that wasn’t an exact copy of his love for now. It was a visible reminder of his failure to be a completely rational proper Timelord. He had rewired his brain for happiness and yet he couldn’t quite fully feel it. He didn’t have time to feel like this. He had things he had to do.

RIght, off to save the only other of his kind.

Amy was waiting in the control room while Aki was not. Well, he wasn’t going without his best weapon, so where was she?

He asked the ship, who told him she was outside.

He walked outside to find Amy’s parent’s house, where he had first picked her up. She wasn’t leaving, was she?

“TARDIS said she was out here.”

“She’s probably in the porta potty.” Amy answered with a knowing smirk.

“The TARDIS loos all work fine,” The Doctor argued as he went up to the Blue Porta Potty. As soon as his hand touched the door he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Of course! HA!” He turned to Rory in glee. “It’s her ship! That’s how she brought Amy home and and,” He frowned at Amy, hurt. “You knew she had a TARDIS this whole time and never said.”

“See why she had to come with us? You’re not alone Doctor.” Amy cheered.

“Come along Ponds, Porta Loo time for us.” He scowled. That wasn’t something he had ever wanted to say.

As soon as he entered the unlocked door, the ship seemed to give a telepathic cheer in welcome. It seemed to bounce around in his mind, then the floor turned into blue arrows pointing towards a corridor below curved glass ceilings. He’d never had another TARDIS greet him, let alone so enthusiastically.

The Console room looked a bit like a garden. The arches were covered in pink climbing flowers that glowed with their own light. The whole room was distinctly feminine. The seats surrounding the console had five point harnesses in bright yellow. The central column was golden light that seemed to flow without a casing up and down. Beyond the console area were glass walls that looked like they were in a fishbowl that showed different planets. The ones by the doors showed the yard they came from. A hologram of the Earth and their location orbited the central column. 

“Hello! It’s the Doctor.” He called down the hall so as not to startle her.

He saw random items spewing out of a large door.

“Nope, not that. Seriously, why do we even still have the Used Toothbrush of the Other?”

“House Cleaning?” The Doctor asked, ducking what appeared to be a metal boxed Star Wars monopoly set.

“Nope. Looking for something important.” Arkytior scrambled up to him, over several large boxes. “Quick- Where would you hide dangerous historical artifacts?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “ Uh... somewhere no one would find it?”

“Which would be?” She demanded.

When he just stared at her in confusion she continued, “Because Corin put it somewhere, but there are a literal ton of ancient Gallifreyan artifacts in here. Original Space Force Uniform, Omega’s Left-Handed Scissors, Rassilon’s Dirty Gym Socks!”

“Oh!” The Doctor clapped his hands. “Are those actually real? We used to use them as a curse word back in the DECA in my Academy days.”

“Focus, Doctor.”

“I don’t know! I’m not him.”

“Brainstorm with me, Timelord.”

“Uh, in a banana grove?” He scratched his cheek and shrugged.

“Banana grove!” She cheered as if it should have been obvious. 

The Doctor caught her before she could run off.

“I need your help.” The Doctor insisted.

“But-“ 

“I’ll help you later, but right now, The Corsair, the last of my kind is out there and desperately needs our help. I can’t do it without you. I need your big brain and centuries of experience to help me save him. I’m properly begging you. I can’t be the last of my kind if I can help it.”

She sighed and scowled as she searched his eyes. He swore she wanted to say something or cry. “I’m so close.”

“I’ll help you later. I promise. First save a Timelord then we can all help you find whatever artifact you want.”

“You and your stupid puppy dog eyes.” She said as she turned away from him. “I’m holding you to that promise! I have timelines to fix.”

She put on what she called the ‘Geek Specs of the Other,’ which he found strangely sexy- it must be because it made her look like a scientist.

“Oh, what do those do?” He asked.

“They let me see timelines more clearly,” She answered.

“Right, cause not Timelord.” He said. He kept forgetting that.

“Where is the Corsair?” She asked.

“Stuck in a bubble universe.”

Arkytior scanned the piles of seeming Time Lord junk that must all be artifacts. It was like a Gallifreyan archeologist dig.

“Yo-yo of the Other, rewinds time and pulls people out of things.” She tossed it to him. “Backup Battery pack of Omega, stores a tiny black hole’s worth of energy, which we might need to exit the bubble universe since the local power sources might be like diesel in a petrol engine.”

“Why does Time Lord technology look like junk?” Amy asked as she kicked what looked like an antique hair dye kit.

“It was designed by bored engineers.” Arkytior explained. 

The Doctor picked it up, “Is that the legendary Ginger Dye of the Other?”

“Yes.” Arkytior sighed. 

He pocketed it. One Ancient being’s trash was a Time Lords’s treasure, after all.

“Ooh, The Lacey Underthings of the Other!” He smelled it. “It smells like Chocolate Bananas Foster!”

He felt himself salivating at the smell. How delicious. Who would make clothes smell like food? Did it taste as good as it smelled?

“Doctor!” Amy looked sick.

“What? It’s a famous artifact I’d heard about in school! It--”

Arkytior grabbed it from him. “Is MY underwear.”

He blushed. “Right. Suppose every artifact was someone’s at some point. But how did you get it to smell like banana?”

She just rolled her eyes and moved past him.

“Is there a Used Sex Toy of the Other too?” Amy joked.

“Yeah, but those are in an entirely different closet.” Arkytior smirked.

“Was your husband a hoarder?” Rory asked, looking around at the mess in awe and horror.

“Yes. But so are most Time Lords. When you’ve got bigger on the inside technology, it never needs to look like you keep everything.”

“Oi!” The Doctor objected. “It’s not hoarding if everything has its place.”

“Such as a hall of broken toasters.”

“Useful rare metals in toasters, you never know when you will need to generate nuclear power.” He argued, despite his friends' somewhat horrified faces. “Is it the room of toaster bits or nuclear power you’re making those faces for?”

“Both.” Amy said.

“Not sure why people keep mistaking you for human when you talk like that.” Aki teased.

“It’s probably the general human shape and size.” Rory said.

“Hey! You look Timelord not the other way ‘round. We came first.” He reminded them. 

Aki smiled at him as he left her TARDIS and closed the door to the seeming Porta Loo behind them.

“Doctor,” She whispered in his ear from behind, “We should leave them here. Amy’s sorta pregnant, and this will be dangerous.”

Oh. Right.

“Well, we will be right back. Hopefully.” He said to the Ponds.

“We’re coming with you.” Amy insisted.

“Not this time. I know what it’s like to lose my Amy, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” He looked at Rory significantly. 

Rory seemed to get it and nodded. “Be safe, you two.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He grabbed Aki’s hand and rushed into the TARDIS before Amy could try to force her way in.

“It’s for the best.” Aki said.

“Yeah.” The Doctor agreed as he locked the door.

“Think we should pick up Jack for this? Having someone who can’t die when you’re going into a possible death trap is handy.”

He didn’t like the idea of Jack flirting with Aki more.

“Nah. We make a good team right?” He bumped his hip into hers.

She shook her head but didn’t disagree.

He pressed the buttons to take them outside their universe and into the bubble one, burning off various rooms.

“You could always burn up the Banana moon.” She suggested with a straight face, from her side of the console.

He was horrified. “Never! Need all that potassium!”

She laughed as she worked the stabilizers and checked for any incoming messages.

As expected they crashed with a boom. Arkytior’s laugh turned to a panicked gasp as she pushed herself up from the floor.

“She’s gone.” She croaked.

“The power, it's draining. Everything's draining. But it can't. That's, that's impossible.” He said, looking for some way to fix this. He had killed his beloved TARDIS in a reckless move to save another Time Lord.

“I wish you’d stop using that word. Very little is actually impossible.” She sounded as hurt as he was. 

She headed towards the door.

“It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the Tardis, has just vanished. Where would it go?” 

“Not in here.” Aki rested her head against the door.

*

Idris gasped and sat up. Golden energy came out of her mouth as if she were a Time Lord who had just regenerated. The Tardis’s wheezing pushed through lungs incapable of making such a mechanical noise, nonetheless. She touched her chest. Something is wrong, will be wrong, was always wrong. Everything hurt and was stuck in a single timeline like a shortsighted boring creature of flesh.

Across the vast field, Narvin collapses onto the ground with a gasp. He was still breathing, but for how long?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to TugBoatG for her wonderfully helpful Beta work. Go check her fics out!
> 
> In an episode of the 5th Doctor we see the Zero room is pink and yellow and are told it smells like Roses and always has and the Doctor doesn't know why. I wonder if that is why RTD chose for her name to be Rose.
> 
> A 5th Doctor audio book mentions the Thimble of Rassilon that can force a timeloop. I just couldn't help myself from writing all the other Random Artifacts of the Timelord Founders. My Discord group helped me brainstorm the silliest artifacts.
> 
> In case you were wondering, the Doctor has a Rose doll as seen when 11 gets stuff back from his pockets in the submarine episode. Even kisses it. The thing with Rassilon and the Silence has always been my headcanon since 12 kicked him off planet. He wouldn't take that sitting down and who else would be able to create a fixed point that contrived to force the Doctor to die? He certainly knows how to make Timelords. Eyepatch lady is either Rassilon or his top minion.  
> He also probably gathered the Doctor's enemies for the Pandorica etc. Confession: I don't know Narvin very well but I've heard 1 audio of his and have friends who love him, and read his wiki extensively. 
> 
> Thanks to GroovyKat for helping me get what Narvin would do right!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor's Wife from Narvin's POV. Very different retelling based on who is there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: This Chapter is Narvin POV heavy due to recent events of the Gallifrey audios, plus it gives us a new perspective of the Doctor and Rose. Next chapter will be more from their POV which is when it will be most needed. Poor Rose is soaked in Artron, which House eats. Also I will be giving you a *canon* based origin for House and what he is and why he eats tardises and next chapter, which is mostly written, will go into why that is a very very bad thing for Narvin. 
> 
> THANKS again to my beta reader TugboatG! Go check out her story about Rose and 10 which she frequently updates.
> 
> This also pushes this story over 50,000 words making it long enough to be a novel but it's got a ways to go.

Narvin could have used the technology at his disposal as CIA coordinator to find life forms on this planet, and therefore the living TARDIS, but his ears worked fine and the dead weren’t known for arguing with each other loudly.

“I’m here to rescue a trapped Time Lord,” a voice called. Convenient; he was looking to be untrapped.

He followed the sound to find Uncle and Aunt franken-creatures talking to a Time Lord, in a ridiculous hat not becoming of a higher species, in front of a bright blue, never cloaked, TARDIS that had been found in too many CIA reports. 

“Oh.” The Doctor acknowledged Narvin with a frown and looked behind him. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen any OTHER Time Lords? Maybe one with a snake tattoo?”

Had anyone ever taught the Doctor any manners? Lungbarrow was known for rudeness, but this was something else.

“No. I’m the only Time Lord here.” Narvin drawled condescendingly.

The Doctor drooped like a petulant time tot, “I might not have bothered if I had known it was just you.”

“Charming as that is, as CIA Coordinator on official business, I hereby confiscate your TARDIS.” He strode straight for the blue TARDIS.

“Well, too bad. She appears to have died to get here.”

He pressed his hand on the door, and felt the lack of life inside, confirming this lack of luck. He had managed to get off of an exploding ship, but due to interference, hadn’t been able to choose where he ended up. So here he was in a carnivorous universe with no way out, stuck with Gallifrey’s most annoying Time Lord.

He had passed through the Void and come to this place beyond Hell.

“Doctor! Don’t be rude!” A woman in a matching Stetson admonished. “We will find a way to get you out of here, too.”

He took in her appearance and the very distinctive golden bracelets on her wrists. Of course, the day he was to die, only to land in a universe of dead Time Lords and failing life support, was the day he met one of the non-crazy founders of Gallifrey. And traveling with the most notorious Tim Lord of them all. He probably reeked of death and fear--if not the overwhelming ‘molding refuse’ smell that permeated this place. He would have wished for at least a moment to sonic himself clean, at the very least.

“Greetings, Lady Founder. I thank you for your consideration.” He gave a respectful bow and hurried to her side.

“There is no need to bow,” She insisted, casually brushing off his respectful demeanor. Now that she said so, bringing up her rank amongst these lowlifes might have marked her as a target.

As part of the training to become CIA Coordinator, he had been made to watch the security video of this woman with her impossible Shimmer burn through Rassilon’s regenerations in short order when he had pissed her off, creating the untempered Schism in her unparalleled rage. He had also been warned that, despite her compassionate nature, she was the most dangerous being to ever land on Gallifrey. She was rumored to have once accidentally regenerated someone who had had the misfortune to wake her early without tea in hand. 

It paid to be cautiously polite. He had no idea how the Doctor had survived.

“Yes, My Lady Founder.” He never expected to meet a Founder of Gallifrey dressed so casually, and in a human hat.

“Just call me Arkytior.” The Founder said.

“I thank you, Lady Arkytior.” He had also been warned not to let her relaxed nature relax his defenses. It was a tactic she used to get others to tell her things they might not have otherwise. He believed humans referred to it as being the ‘Good Cop’.

“Do you know what this place is?” Lady Arkytior asked the first reasonable question of the day.

“It smells like armpits,” the Doctor observed and covered his face with his jacket. Always stating the obvious as crassly as possible, this one. A better man would have at least added the obvious useful information that many bodies were in a state of decay and nothing grew here that wasn’t mold or bacteria. That would have been useful in establishing that this wasn’t a place to stay longer than strictly necessary, as it didn’t support life.

“This planet is alive. It calls itself House and doesn’t need what we’re breathing. And who knows exactly what it eats.” Narvin left out the part where he suspected that it ate TARDISes because of the graveyard he found. He still hadn’t figured out quite how it could even do that. Better not to give away what he knew to House if he was to find a way for the beast to spit them back out.

“Thief! Thief! You're my thief!” A woman in an old Earth dress ran towards the Doctor.

“She’s dangerous! Guard Yourselves!” Auntie warned. Was it true, or just another part of this trap that had claimed so many Time Lords before? It reminded him of the reports on the Eternal that called itself the Celestial Toymaker, and likely as powerful, if certainly more ugly.

“I just got here! I haven’t stolen anything!” The Doctor protested.

“Look at you. Goodbye. No, not goodbye, what's the other one?” The girl said excitedly.

“Oh my God!” Arkytior sounded shocked.

“Oh! Sister is here too! You’re still in my heart.” The girl turned to the Founder.

“Watch out. Careful. Keep back from her. Welcome, strangers. Lovely. Sorry about the mad person.” Uncle said.

She very well could be mad, but he wouldn’t believe a thing out of the natives’ mouths. They were part of House and had no care for the living, being part zombies or mannequins of an evil eternal.

Arkytior, in her expected unusual compassion, went to hug the stranger. “How did you end up in here? Does it hurt?”

“Aki, stay away! She’s dangerous, remember.” The Doctor said, trying to pull her away.

“It hurts but it’s all very weird. Not sure how you cope.” The woman squished her cheeks with her hands.

“Stay away from her, “ Uncle insisted. “Idris bites.”

“Is that my name?” Idris asked.

“We’ve got to help her!” Arkytior insisted.

“Oh, but now you're angry. No, you're not. You will be angry. The little boxes will make you angry.”

Little boxes. Did she mean the hypercubes? She spoke like a soothsayer.

“The glowing boxes made me angry.” Narvin checked to see if there was any reason to Idris’s supposed madness. Maybe her native language dealt with tenses differently.

“Squishy spiders make you angry, well actually scared, Braxitiel, and anyone else bending the rules makes you angry in all tenses.” Idris tilted her head then got distracted by the Doctor.

“Oh, ho, no. Your chin is hilarious.” She laughed.

So not at all crazy, just mixed up.

The Doctor objected.

Auntie tried to drag Idris away from them. “Come on, Idris, don’t bother them with your insanity. Time to sleep.”

“You’re not taking her anywhere.” Arkytior growled.

“Rest. Yes, yes. Good idea. Maybe I’ll reboot. I'll just see if there's an off switch.” Idris collapsed into a boneless heap.

“No!” Arkytior was by Idris’s side, checking her pulse.

“Is that it? She’s dead now. So sad.” Uncle said with no remorse, and something like relief.

It pissed Narvin off and solidified his belief that Auntie and Uncle weren’t to be trusted, and somehow Idris was vital to their getting off of this rock. Distract, then convince your enemy that their ally was crazy, useless, or the real enemy. Oh, he had seen this ploy used by the CIA and Gallifreyan politicians, and it was just so basic.

“She’s still alive,” Arkytior breathed in argument and relief. Of course, the founder was more useful than the Doctor. Pity she was known for not letting the council get rid of the pest the Doctor whose meddling was an embarrassment to his entire people. Brax would never let him use the Oubliette of Eternity.

If Idris was failing and House wanted that, they didn’t have time to bother with this chitchat.

“Doctor. Contact?”

“With you?” The Doctor groaned. He could see the Doctor knew he wouldn’t initiate mental contact unless circumstances were dire.

“I’d rather not, but needs must.” He let his utter disgust and disdain clear in his tone.

They needed to create a new or temporary living heart of the TARDIS and get off word. Luckily Lady Founder was known for her detailed knowledge of TARDIS creation. A large power source would be needed. This was not the sort of engineering issue he had ever heard of happening, let alone in an entirely hostile universe.

He wished he could join his mind with the Founder, but he doubted she would agree, and he was rightfully frightened of what she was capable of. Rassilion had met a very painful end for entering her mind unasked. Besides, she seemed to be getting the idea.

It was the Doctor who was the idiot, and they didn’t have time for that.

“Contact.” The Doctor agreed.

He passed the information in a hypercube shaped packet that the Doctor would know to open.

The Doctor reared back his head and spun in a circle. Rather overdramatic display for a simple telepathic information transfer. He was acting like it had been centuries since he’d last done so. Right. He had all those lesser species strays he picked up and traveled with. His fragile ego required lesser species to parade in front of because anyone more knowledgeable, or just Gallifreyan, would burst his little bubble of self-importance.

*

The Doctor really wanted to punch someone.  
This wasn’t what he had expected. He heard the voices of so many

_“If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive. I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet.”_

Narvin had found a room filled with emergency hypercubes, but he hadn’t found any other Time Lords, just bits of TARDISes. Were they being kept somewhere?

His stomach dropped as he saw Uncle telling Narvin casually that the life support would go away, and he would die. But why? Why would any living planet put together bits of dead bodies and kill timelords without eating them? It was a weirdly specific hobby. Was there something about this planet that killed TARDISes?

“Come, Come! Speak to House, he can answer your questions strangers.” Auntie insisted.

Arkytior and Narvin whispered at each other furiously. It was quiet enough that only a Time Lord with advanced hearing could make out what they were saying.

“We’re screwed without her.”

“I insist-”

“I wouldn’t be any safer in there right now. You go engineer.” Rose argued. “I excel at distraction.”

Arkytior held the Doctor’s hand after she got up. “I’ll come with you. “

“And the troublemaker?” Uncle indicated Narvin.

“He will make sure our ship doesn’t get invaded by any local wildlife.” She spoke as if she was a queen. Dismissive of Narvin. A tactic he would use to get someone to ignore his clever associate.

“Yes, Milady.” Narvin said far too respectfully, with an excessive bow.

Oh. RIght. Why did he keep forgetting she was a Founder?

*  
As soon as the others were out of sight, Narvin tossed Idris over his shoulder. She was much taller than he was, so her feet dragged, as did her hair.

He opened the TARDIS and locked it, placing the woman under the console in a hammock that could be seen from above. Her Lady Founder had insisted that Idris be kept out of immediate sight in case of attack.

The other two would go be distractions while he was left with the real work. Typical.

He was uncertain how the TARDIS Matrix had been removed within seconds of landing. He had been raised as an engineer, but this wasn’t a problem he had ever heard of. If it was something this place did, it would make sense why no one else had escaped. House must need the TARDIS Matrix energy for some reason; it was incredibly volatile. Either it ate the Matrix somehow or ate parts of the ship itself?

Although knowing how ancient the ship was and the incompetence of the pilot, it could be something stupid he had done. It didn’t take long to realize the entire ship needed a full makeover. It was obscene the things he had attached to this ship instead of the proper parts. Comes from avoiding Gallifrey.

He was startled by footsteps on glass and glanced at the locked door. No invasion then. He looked down to see a face staring up at him.

“I'm, I'm. Big word, sad word. Why is that word so sad? No. Will be sad. Will be sad.” Idris mused.

“Are you a soothsayer then?” He called down.

“I’m confined in here. I’m supposed to be everywhere. Where is my wolf sister? My Thief? House is going to hurt her. Hurt them both.”

If he didn’t know better, he would think Idris was a sentient weapon or computer from Gallifrey.

“Are you from Gallifrey?”

“I was grown in the forests of Lune, my roots in the Time Vortex itself. I was everywhere, but I could touch nothing. Could change nothing.” She changed tones from longing to curiosity like a switch. “So I stole a Time Lord and ran away. Is this squishy loud one place what it’s like for you strays?”

She was Gallifreyan. Not a Timelord, but something grown. Surely the Founder had been addled, A Tardis Matrix would never survive in a body and the idea of it getting there was fantastical.

“Are you,” he winced, “the TARDIS Matrix?”

Immediately she made the mechanical noise of a time capsule.

He jumped backwards.It was so improbable.

“I was told you were sentient, but not like this.” All looking like a Time Lady. It was the scientific opportunity of a lifetime. His father would have done anything to talk to a TARDIS matrix like this. Patrax would sing her praises and might bow before a 13 dimensional being as herself. Narvin was too practical for either. He had bigger problems.

“How do I put you back where you belong?”

She looked thoughtful. “Not Yet. House would just put me in another body outside my shell. 0% chance of survival in that timeline.”

“And the timeline with the highest chance of escaping this place and surviving would involve what?” He crossed his arms expectantly.

Idris ignored him and went to the control panel. “Oh, my beautiful idiot, what trouble have you gotten your mate into this time?”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Narvin deal with House in their own ways.

The Doctor watched the sickly green steam rise through junk parts. He had heard other Time Lord voices earlier, so he hoped Narvin was wrong in his assessment. Narvin was known for annoying everyone around him, perhaps the others were avoiding him.

Auntie, Uncle and Nephew Ood lost all personality and became puppets, stiff and emotionless. “You ride on his back, breathe his air, eat his food.” 

“This asteroid is sentient,” Aki stated uncomfortably.

He didn’t see anything that could be mistaken for food about, or water for that matter.

“And do my will. You are most welcome, travellers.” A deep refined male voice boomed from below.

Nothing creepy about that. Although he should give it a chance; life came in many forms. Also, best not to annoy the creature who was keeping them alive.

“Yes. So you're like a sea urchin. Hard outer surface, that's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside, that's you.”

Aki looked behind them, scanning for other puppets, probably.

“That is correct, Time Lord.” House boomed, from below vibrating against his feet.

“So you’ve met other Time Lords before, besides disappointing Narvin?” He asked.

“Many travellers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew. I repair them when they break.”

The Doctor looked more carefully at the two, finally noticing that they were composites of different beings. His stomach fell at the thought. DIfferent culture, Doctor. Different culture.

“Are there any others, besides the annoying one, right now?” He asked.

House denied any others being here, which maybe Narvin had believed but the Doctor wasn’t giving in so easily.

“Well, there won't be any more after us. Last Time Lord. Last Tardis.”

Aki gave a nervous laugh. “Doctor! Just because you don’t like Narvin and the others doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” She gave him the ‘you’re going to get us killed’ look.

“A pity if they were gone. They were most kind.” House boomed suspiciously.

“Yes.” Aki deadpanned. “Time Lords have always been known for their kindness.”

He glanced at her. Was that an insult?

“What is that lovely smell, Founder?” The ground shook as if taking a deep breath of them. Aki fell to the ground and bits of gold seemed to be pulled from her form.

“Artron energy, in a being like yourself? You are a rare beast, aren’t you. Is there a reason Idris called you, 'Sister?'”

Aki seemed to panic and shook her head. “She seemed friendly. Doesn’t she call Auntie that too? Maybe she calls all women that. She’s one of your puppets after all.” Aki scrambled away from any green vent she could find.

She grabbed his shoulder to try to physically lead him away.

“Mind, if I look around? See if any of them are just being really quiet? The Doctor asked.

“We're not actually going to stay here, are we? Tell me we’re not.” Aki pleaded. She looked a bit green, but with all the green light, who knew.

“I heard them. I can’t just leave until I know for sure there aren’t others.”

Aki groaned. 

“Come on, strange new worlds to explore on a literally friendly planet.” He enticed with expressive arms.

“You just want to be forgiven.” She insisted.

“Don’t we all?” He moaned.

“Not if it gets you killed! You’ve got a Narvin back at the TARDIS.”

“He doesn’t count.” He groused.

“Ugh. You’ve got a Time Lord in your TARDIS. Let’s go see him!” She shook her fists at him.

“I can’t abandon the others if there is even the slightest chance that others are here!” He walked away from her, confident that she wouldn’t let him go off alone.

“The people of Karn still live, preserving your ancient culture and DNA.” Aki argued. “There is no reason to think there are others, and if you go on this goose chase we might lose the one we have. This place isn’t safe.”

They saw the TARDIS graveyard for themselves. Dead TARDISes could explode, but none of these had. And there were hundreds of them.

“None of them are alive.” Aki whispered.

“But I heard them!”

“Where do you imagine them to be if the planet doesn’t think they are here?” Aki argued with her unwanted logic. 

“We haven’t checked the whole asteroid yet!”

“There is no food or water.” She said, pulling him back the way they came. “What if this is like a Marcay or a spider trap?”

Marcays were Earth cats that mimicked the sound of monkey baby’s cry to lure in prey.

“We are resourceful.” He pouted.

“Well then, scan for Gallifreyan life on this asteroid. You’ve done similar before.”

“Alright then. I will.” He said as he followed her.

The scan came up with two results. Just two. But he had heard more! Were they blocking themselves somehow?

“Doctor!” Aki called urgently.

He ran to catch up with her. Time Lord voices becoming louder. To find glowing hypercubes strewn everywhere. One in her hands. When she glanced at him, there was sorrow and pity in her tears.

Boxes, but no people. Aki pocketed the box and went towards him with her arms open, so he was the one to see Aunt and Uncle behind her. He couldn’t break down here. Not now.

“Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection. Nice job. Brilliant job. Really thought I had some friends here, but this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the long dead. How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me, and what happened to them all?” He hated when Narvin was right. He would never admit it to the bureaucratic nightmare.

“House, House is kind and he is wise.” Auntie smiled.

“House repairs you when you break. Yes, I know. But how does he mend you? You've got the eyes of a twenty year old.” He bit out.

“Thank you.” Uncle seems to stalk towards him.

Aki is stuffing her pockets with hypercubes.

“No. Oh, no, I mean it literally. Your eyes are thirty years younger than the rest of you. Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than your left, and how's your dancing? Because you've got two left feet. Patchwork people. You've been repaired and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you. I had an umbrella like you once.”

“In your 6th body.” Aki agreed and looked at him pointedly. “And how did that you die again?”

By having his chronal energy drained by a powerful being. Like a giant living Asteroid.

“Good point.” He said. 

“Doctor, they are stalling us. We need to go now!” Aki insisted, pulling him away from them all.

But then he saw Auntie's forearm has a snake tattoo. The same one the Corsair had in every body.

His rage built.

“Oh, now, it's been a great arm for me, this.” Auntie smiled as if she knew.

“Corsair.” He breathed.

“He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle?” She said.

“Big fellow.” Uncle agreed as he made an attempt to grab Aki.

“I got the arm and then Uncle got the spine and the kidneys.” Auntie said.

They weren’t just patchwork people. They were patchwork Time Lords. Here was the remains of his people. Not burned as they should be, or even buried or left to rot.

He wanted to kill them all for the crime of their existence. He had once offered the bodies of the dead to save a species. But these were endangered Time Lords who had been tricked and betrayed for their compassion, and then cannibalized. The red haze of his rage nearly blinded him.

“Nice kidneys.” Uncle agreed, pulling out a staser and pointing it at Aki.

“Leave her alone!” He commanded.

“House doesn’t want you. You can keep on living a bit longer. He wants a snack before he goes,” Auntie said, as if it were a perfectly reasonable exchange. Aki's life for a few more minutes of existence.

He used his sonic to disable the staser, but not before Auntie used another device to drain Aki of more gold Artron. She stumbled towards him.

“You attacked my friend and you gave me desperate hope that another friend was still alive, and then you took it away! That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me. Basically, run!” He spat.

Aki wrapped her arms around him. “Doctor.” She’s leaning too much on him. Something was wrong. He was so numb after finding out they were all dead again, it hadn’t really hit him yet. He couldn’t focus on something being wrong with her, because if there was, it was his fault for dragging her here on this lost cause. If he thought about it too long, let it out of its box, he was scared of what he was capable of. If the guilt would drag him down into despair so deep he would just stop. If he stopped, there was no chance that they would escape and she would get better. He couldn’t make up for it.

He broke away from Aki to try to grab Auntie and take back what she stole, he had just gotten her into a headlock when he felt the burn of staser fire.

Uncle shook the staser. “Batteries are too low. Only Stun.”

When he woke, it had only been a few minutes by his time sense, but his enemies were too far to reach and his heart ached. Not sure if it ached because of the staser or his utter failure. Aki sat beside him scanning him for injury.

“If I wasn’t so worn out I woulda protected you.” Aki apologized, as if it wasn’t his fault that she was even worse off.

“Poor old Time Lord. Too late. House is too clever.” Auntie grinned.

Auntie and Uncle disappeared over a pile of junk.

'The boxes will make you angry.' Idris had said.

“Idris knew about the boxes- but how?” He asked.

“I thought you’d figured it out, but I guess it was too obvious.” Aki said, reaching into a pocket to get something to eat. “She’s the TARDIS.”

“The what? No, no she was a mad local-”

“I don’t know how, but I would recognize the mind of a TARDIS anywhere, especially hers.” Aki made a face as she ate a vitamin cube known for keeping you awake and energized.

“So, you made sure she made it home.”

“With an engineer. Hopefully he will figure out how to put her back.”

He wanted to argue, but it was fitting together. House ate Artron. He had sucked it from Aki. TARDISes were full of rift energy such as Artron. House was going to eat his TARDIS. He had to stop him.

A communicator rung from Aki’s pocket.

“Founder,” Narvin calls. “It’s invaded the TARDIS!” His voice breaks off as a roar overtakes it.

“Hide her!” Aki screams back.

He looked up to see his TARDIS flying up and away from him, a small glowing drone flying up to meet it.

All he can think is that he’s failed them all. They drained Aki, and even Narvin is in danger because he didn’t listen. He hadn’t thought House could hijack his ship. He went to carry Aki on his back. She didn’t even pretend to protest.

“Save your strength. I don't, I really don't know what to do. That's a new feeling.” He cried. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”

“We’ve got to go back to the graveyard and build a console room.” Aki sounded resigned. “We’ve no other choice.“

It was a place to start.

“You just had to tell House that his food supply was going away, didn’t you!” Aki cried.

They were probably going to die because of him, so he couldn’t blame her for being upset.

“I had it figured out! The TARDIS had found a way out, and instead you dragged me here.” His back was dampened by her frustrated tears.

The Doctor set her down and got to work getting parts into the least damaged console room. She busied herself messing with parts around her.

He could feel timelines around him die. He could feel the asteroid getting colder. Well, now that the warm inside of it was gone there was nothing to keep it warm. No star. Nothing. The atmospheric shell would be next.

“It's time for us both to go, and keep together.” Auntie called down to him from on top of a dead TARDIS.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go? What do you mean, go? Where are you going?” He asked. Maybe there was an escape hatch or ship-

“Well, we're dying, my love. It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off.”

He tried to hide his panic in a mental box because his last moments shouldn’t be in a hopeless heap.

“I'm against it.” Uncle said it as if he didn’t care about dying.

“It's your fault, isn't it, sweets? Because you told House it was the last Tardis. House can't feed on them if there's none more coming, can he?”

So he was right that he fed on TARDISes. What a hollow victory.

“So now he's off to your universe to find more TARDISes.”

“He won't.” He heard Aki gasp behind him. He had doomed her ship as well. Probably the Mother ship from Gallifreyan legend, and he would have committed genocide against his best friend’s species too. No more TARDISes.

“Oh, it'll think of something.” Auntie said before she collapsed.

“Actually, I feel fine.” Uncle said, before he followed suit, green gas escaping into the sky. He tried to capture it but it slipped through his fingers.

“Not dead. You can't just die! You’ve told me your evil plan. Now you have to show me where the escape pods are and how to stop you.” The Doctor protested.

It was the end of this universe. Just him and the woman who had come to mean everything to him, and he was just now figuring that out. As all life would fail in a matter of an hour. Because of him. It was like the Time War all over again, but this time it wasn’t just him.

He turned around to find Aki bonding a tube directly into the Tachyon Diverter. She wasn’t moping in her imminent death. She just kept working. She had helped create the first TARDIS, maybe there was something that could be done. He had to help her.

“I don’t want to die.” He said conversationally as he welded another vital part.

“You’re not going to.” Aki stated as fact. “I don’t think I will be as lucky. But that’s fine. Better, I suppose. Dying to save your life. Seems about right.” She kept focused on adding parts as he stared at her.

“I think I love you.” He confessed, here near the end of all things.

Aki let out a sort of brittle laugh. “Save it for Idris. I’ll save her too. You just gotta outwit House when we get there.”

Either she didn’t believe him, or it wasn’t reciprocated. Now wasn’t the time to get domestic.

“Right. Outwit a sentient planet that has taken residence in my ship and get home.”

Aki cried out and rubbed her side. “Idris is dying and I’m of no use to her here. I can’t even comfort her.” She rubbed her face to keep from crying and walked away from him.

He installed the Time Roter. It was something he could fix; he couldn’t help his oldest friend unless they could get to her.

Aki came back with a tattered red cloak with faded gold Gallifreyan writing covering it, and pulled it over her. She reminded him of Red Riding hood but tossing a yo-yo from hand to hand.

*

“Oh, my beautiful idiot, what trouble have you gotten your mate into this time?”

“Sorry, what?” Narvin asked. “No one would mate with that idiot.”

Idris sniffed and looked around. "I need fuel. Body fuel.”

Idris wandered down the hall. Of course the Doctor’s TARDIS was easily distracted, much like the man himself.

He chased after her. “Come on, What do we need to do to get back alive? Use that all seeing brain of yours!” 

He found her in a galley tossing containers around.

“Where is it? She is always thinking about eating-Ah hah!” Idris pulled out dark chocolate ice cream with chocolate ganache, bananas and hazelnut brownies.

“Hey! You’re supposed to serve Time Lords. I demand you tell me how we can get away safely.” He crossed his arms and used his best intimidating glance.

Idris ignored him and started eating her prize. “So cold, my teeth don’t like it. The flavor is nice but oh! Oh! This body is producing serotonin and dopamine! That's why she likes this. Ah, but it increases the desire to mate. That is less pleasant.”

Hearing a TARDIS talk about mating was disturbing.

“Oh.” Idris paused and pressed some buttons on the shimmer the Lady Founder had given her. “This is the part where I hide.” 

She disappeared.

He was about to speak when the room lights turned green and the cloister bells started to ring.

“He isn’t going to like you.” Idris’s voice echoed around in his head. Still telepathic then. “But Protocols save anyone. Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor.”

“He who?” Narvin believed he could handle the Doctor when he was angry, especially if the compassionate Founder was with him, but then the TARDIS Matrix wouldn’t hide from either of them. 

He could handle Uncle if he found a way inside, but the change in lighting suggested something more sinister. Green. House’s mists were green. If it possessed the ship the way some creatures had attempted, then.... Well, then he’d need to know exactly what kind of creature it was if he was to survive.

“I’m the Coordinator of the Celestial Intervention Agency.” He reminded himself. “In a TARDIS. Couldn’t be safer.” Against Aliens.

“You're half right. I mean, you are in the Tardis. What a great adventure. I should have done this half a million years ago. So, Coordinator, why shouldn't I just kill you now?” House boomed.

Narvin pressed his hands against his armor to remind himself he was fine.

He fell to his knees in a wince as House increased the gravity exponentially. But Protocol meant it couldn’t be raised to the point where it would kill a Time Lord. Hopefully House was just as bound as the TARDIS Matrix was.

He crawled towards the hallway. Appliances were supposed to be secured to walls for the safety of travellers but he didn’t think it was a protocol for a ship this old. He didn’t fancy being crushed by a Refrigerator. What an embarrassing reason to regenerate, if he even had the ability.

He kicked the door shut behind him. He needed to get to the console. He preferred not to take off without theThe Doctor and the Lady Founder.He could use other protocols to stop if he was in the console room..

“Gallifreyan bodies are so comparatively fragile.” A green ghost that was dressed as a traditional shabogan taunted him.

“Yes, hard to hurt a ghost. What were you when you lived?” He asked flippantly.

“Not one of Rassilon’s puppets that's for sure.” Another green tinged ghost blocked his way to the console.

They knew a bit of his culture, from eating TARDISes he imagined. Predator knowing prey.

“I could drain you as easily as we did the Matrix.” 

“So you are the Kolstani.” They didn’t quite look like the Ravenous who were Time Lord’s only natural enemy, but it might get them to reveal what they were.

Ah. They looked quite insulted, good.

“We were from the web of time untimely ripped and cast aside by CIA Coordinators millions of years ago- We should eat him.” Their voices overlapped in agreement.

In front of him and behind, blast doors came down. Hot water began to rush from the ceiling. It seemed they had turned on the tube washing setting.

“You, you mean The Oubliette of Eternity?” He asked as he was able to stand up again, and turned his visor on his helmet on to keep the water off his face. They shouldn’t be able to turn it on with a Time Lord inside, but it paid to be careful when you didn’t have backup regenerations to count on. His concerns were justified by the suddenly spinning corridor that threw him into the walls.

He magnitized his boots to keep from being tossed about along with spun.

They roared an affirmative. Inside, Narvin shuddered. Romana had told him of the Never people. The problem being they might know Gallifreyan technology well enough to be a real threat.

Never people were Gallifreyans who were deemed too much a threat to have ever existed. Sent to Antiverse where physics don't exist. Maybe their concepts of cause and effect were fuzzy enough that they could be stopped in the Main universe. However he shouldn’t let them get that far, as they would create temporal distortions that could destroy time itself.

“Never used it myself.” He lied. He really hoped the ones he’d created were not part of this conglomeration. “You’ve been lucky, you know. The Time War and Daleks have been literal hell.”

This was his hell. Trapped with beings he helped create, knowing it had led to so many of his people and TARDISes being eaten and tortured. The only consolation was that Leela wasn’t here to judge him for what he had done.

“We’d rather be dead than starving and unable to die.” They roared back.

He closed his mouth and nose to keep from choking on the water swirling around him, bypass engaged.

His head spun even when it abruptly stopped. He tapped the button to remove the visor before the contents of his stomach hurled out at last.

Maybe it would be better if the Doctor never returned to find out. But no, he couldn’t let the kind Lady Founder just die for his mistakes. Besides, she could be the perfect weapon against the Daleks. Legends said she had taken out an entire Dalek fleet in seconds once, without damaging anything else around them.

They were gone for a while, before returning while he was trying to pry his way out of the hallway.

He heard them argue as they approached. “She was delicious! We must go back to finish her off!”

“No. We escape this pustule verse first.”

Realizing they couldn’t be talking about the TARDIS Matrix with a fleeting measure of relief until it hit him that they meant the Lady Founder instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to TugboatG for her fabulous beta reading skills!
> 
> In case you were wondering it's my headcannon that House is a collection of NeverPeople who have gone extra mad from the isolation of that bubble universe. Never People were Gallifreyans who were punished by the CIA to be ripped from the web of time and sent to another universe.(they are ghost like) They ate regenerative energy and rift energy from TARDISes but wouldn't die without it. Auntie and Uncle possessed timelord bodies to no longer be ghosts but since they don't eat the bodies sort of rot and they keep replacing parts.
> 
> You can learn more if you check out the NeverPeople wiki. 
> 
> I've started writing the next chapter which is mostly from Rose's POV.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose's POV and their escape from the planet.

Rose felt her stomach drop as she saw the TARDIS rise without them.

“We’ve got to go back to the graveyard and build a console room.” Rose felt hollowed out and not just drained. “We’ve no other choice.“ Now that the TARDIS was gone without them.

There was only way to reach the TARDIS now, she just hoped she had enough energy left to do it. If it was anyone else at her side she would have sat down and given up. The idea of releasing the Bad Wolf again terrified her. It wasn’t meant to be used like this and always had a cost. Which she could deal with, so long as the cost wasn’t the Doctor. He had to live, not just for the universe and causal loops but because she loved him.

The upside of being so drained was that The Wolf probably didn’t have enough energy to unravel time once she got them out of this universe.

She had been so close to having everything she had lost back. To having her husband back. He would have been so happy to see her once they fixed the interference of Rassilon. His burden lifted as she told him how she had saved his friends. How he needed to survive so he could save his whole planet in this incarnation, so a few probably-already-dead Time Lords was nothing in comparison in this wild goose chase. She had dreamed of watching his smile as she told him of all she had fixed for him. But that was never going to happen now, was it?

“You just had to tell House that his food supply was going away, didn’t you!” Rose cried. The Doctor was a genius, but was so oblivious to the obvious.

The Doctor carried her and offered pithy apologies to sooth his conscience. 

“I had it figured out! The TARDIS had found a way out, and instead you dragged me here.” She wet his back with her frustrated tears. Best to release it all now before she had to be completely focused and controlled to power the ship.

She went through the motions of getting the required parts to make this work. Aunt and Uncle prattled on, but it didn’t matter; none of it did outside of getting the basics set up so her power had a place to go.

“I don’t want to die,” He said conversationally as he welded another vital part.

“You’re not going to,” Roes reassured him. She wouldn’t allow it. “I don’t think I will be as lucky. But that’s fine. Better, I suppose. Dying to save your life. Seems about right.” She had failed to save Corin from Rassilon, so dying to actually save him would be fitting. She might survive and be comatose for weeks, but it was better to be prepared for that very real possibility so she didn’t falter or think of her own survival at a key point. Either way this was going to hurt. A lot.

She felt his eyes on her back.

“I think I love you.” He blurted.

Her heart clinched, and Rose set loose a brittle laugh. He thinks he loves her. It was the equivalent of a Doctor utmost apology for killing us all. At least he liked you. Even if he actually meant it, it didn’t matter what was felt; their time was up. He’d killed her plans of them being together again properly. Better for him to think it was one sided. No distractions.

“Save it for Idris. I’ll save her, too. You just gotta outwit House when we get there.” She refused to look him in the eyes.

That's right. She was saving her friend, TARDIS. It would be worth it, but she didn’t see herself being any help once they got to the ship.

“Right. Outwit a sentient planet that has taken residence in my ship and get home.” He said flippantly.

Her connection to Idris thinned but she was struck by her pain. A TARDIS consciousness was never meant to live in a fleshy body. Her organs were shutting down. Life was more than pain. Her friend deserved so much better.

“We are going to need to power this.” She pulled out the Backup Battery Pack of Omega and tossed it to him to attach to the console.

“That won’t be enough.” The Doctor stated the obvious. If they were in the same universe or were in their original TARDIS, it might have been. Making the console had given their adversary enough time to be out of their reach.

He pulled out the Yo-yo of the Other, which could rewind time enough to make it possible to reach the ship if they had the power. He would have been better off with the TARDIS Matrix than stuck with her. Just being here, she may have otherwise doomed him.

“I’ll just hit the drone with this to get the energy we need to get back.” He practiced his yo-yo skills.

“Drone?” She asked.

“They used a drone to send your energy to House,” He looked apologetic.

She frowned. “I hadn’t noticed. I was so focused on the TARDIS.”

If he pulled the energy to them, it would help them get back, but it still wouldn’t be enough. Bad Wolf couldn’t be drained by an outside force. She didn’t know what it would take from her if she was able to contain it again. But she couldn’t let her Doctor die. Whatever the cost was, it would be worth it.

“You’ll have to aim it carefully at the end so it doesn’t smack you in the head.” She warned him. This body wasn’t as coordinated as his others had been, so that would be a trick.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured.

She gave him a skeptical eyebrow raise.

“Still won’t be enough,” she sighed.

“You said we could do it if we built a console.” He whined. “But it can't hold the charge. It can't even start. There's no power. I've got nothing.”

“Yeah-”

Rose cried out and rubbed her side as if it were her own kidneys that were failing instead of Idris’. She had 18 minutes left with her dear friend before her body failed completely. She just wished she had had the opportunity to really talk to her in the flesh.

“Idris is dying, and I’m of no use to her here. I can’t even comfort her.” She rubbed her face to keep from crying while he supported her with a comforting back rub.

“We’ll be fine.” He lied. “We’ll save her.”

She jogged away, she had to find a way to mask her identity. It was hard on her body, but if she couldn’t save him, feeling drained was the least of her worries. This universe had 3 hours until it hit absolute zero. Idris's thoughts hadn’t been reassuring of their chances. There it was, what Idris had pictured. A red cloak from a dead Time Lord from days long past. She donned it, realizing with amusement that she was a wolf in Red Riding Hood’s cloak. The wolf that had consumed the girl.

She pulled the hood up and returned to the Doctor.

They both felt their TARDIS’s strong telepathic signature call for them.

_Thief! Thief! Come Back thief! I need you! No timelines continue without you being here. You’re late!_

“We’re coming.” Rose promised. I’ll bring him back to you.

“I’m going to have to drain myself to power this ship, which will mean taking off my shimmer. It fuels itself from my excess artron energy and keeps the greater power from escaping it’s cage.”

He gaped like a fish. She knew he wanted to argue, but he knew they had no other options.

“Couldn’t I-” He offered himself.

“No. I have orders of magnitude more energy than any Time Lord. I just can’t control it very well. Last time I unleashed it this much, I kinda burned a hole in reality.” She tsked as she tied her hair up into a bun lest it give her away.

He looked resigned.

“So, when we get there, get Narvin to check if I’m still alive and tell him my shimmer is in my top pocket.”

“Bit late for modesty don’t you think?”

“You saw the timelines all die if you saw me as I am. Do it for the timelines. I’m not going to die just to destroy all of reality for your curiosity.” She bit back.

He grabbed her face and kissed her deeply for a few seconds wherein she felt his mind. Hers didn’t bother with shields; why should it when this was no invasion, but as their minds should be? She had been so startled and overwhelmed with the taste of her bondmate that she didn’t have a moment to react. Maybe she could devise an excuse to draw his lips back to hers? What was the point in denying herself at this point?

“Thank you,” He attempted a smile.

Right. Not love. Her stomach sank in disappointment. Rory had mentioned that this Doctor was a kisser that even he avoided. Just a kiss of exuberance. Maybe she could pass off kissing him for luck?

He rubbed his lips with the back of his hand.

“Pears.” He looked disgusted.

She laughed. Had it really been earlier today that she had applied pear chapstick and thought she had a chance to have her love back?

“Consent, Doctor. You’ve gotta ask or else you get the pear. Rory has got more pear chapstick.”

He nodded. “Gonna be a rough ride without a shield.”

“Promise not to look.” She demanded.

“Promise.”

“She nodded and covered her face completely with the hood. She whispered the Doctor’s real name against her bracelet to release the Bad Wolf and the lock on the bracelet, then put it in her pocket.She raised her hands to touch the roter, gripping it for dear life. She willed it to power the ship. Everything became bright and burned like the sun. She tried to hide from her own terror of losing herself completely again.

 _Idris, Guide me back to you._ She cried telepathically, linking their minds. Being a 13-dimensional being, her mind was everywhere and nowhere at once, and Rose got tossed about like a snowflake in a storm until Idris could focus enough on physical location.

Her eyes were closed, but she could see the Doctor extending the yo-yo into the past and dragging the drone back towards them. The gravity shifts drew the TARDIS momentarily towards them before it broke free and the drone fell down towards them.

 _You missed!_ House’s refined voice boomed through them both. _“Enjoy rotting for billions of years alone as you freeze to death.”_ House’s mind was made of many, gone mad with hunger, bitterness, and deprivation. She tried to pull away.

Pulling the TARDIS down would have crushed the; it had the mass of planets, and the yo-yo wasn’t set up to handle that. The drone was small enough to control, and it had her artron. It hit the rotor on its way towards the Doctor’s face, breaking apart and freeing her artron energy which was immediately absorbed by the rotor that was made for it.

She used the energy the Doctor regained from the drone to pull the makeshift console together and rose, following the mental draw of Idris. It felt like every cell in her body was being ripped apart as they dematerialized. It was too painful to even scream.

She heard his pained gasp and vaguely was aware of him covering his eyes.

*  
Aki had disappeared, and in her place was blinding light. He could see bright fingers on the rotor, but that was it. What was she? An eternal or a creature from the dark times? A TARDIS hybrid constructed to hold Gallifreyan form? Pythia herself? If she always looked like this, no wonder she wore a shimmer just to be seen as a mortal. He was awed.

But no. Her glowing arm shook, and he didn’t know how he knew, but he knew she was in great pain. She was sacrificing everything in her to save his miserable life. He didn’t deserve it, but they couldn’t let House eat the last TARDISes--and whatever else it had planned. He couldn’t let it kill the last Time Lord he had been meant to save. If there was any way he could take this burden from her, he would have. 

“We've locked on to them. They'll have to lower the shields when I'm close enough to phase inside. Contact Narvin. Tell him to use the passcode.” The words were coming through her mouth, but they were Idris’. Like House did, only not creepy.

“What passcode?” He asked before the other shoe dropped. The TARDIS shield passcode specific to this incarnation. “I’m going to have to change it once we get back.”

Didn’t need Narvin popping in whenever he liked and changing the settings back to Gallifreyan standard. Boring settings that anyone could predict.

“She already told him.” She was panting now.

“Go back to sleep, leviathan.” She bit out angrily but it didn’t hide the fear. She repeated herself growing weaker and more desperate in tone. She was losing this battle. She was giving him everything to save his life and losing herself for the trouble.

Maybe she was possessed by a force of nature? Her light was dimming, turning redder. Less Aki, more something else. 

He knew what it was like to lose yourself to a greater power. Zagerus. He couldn’t let it happen to her.

He had promised not to look at her, but she hadn’t forbid him from touch. He was a Pydonian Telepathic Master; he could help her seal away whatever had possessed her.

He grasped her fingers desperately from the other side of the console, finding himself immediately pulled in.

Her mind was gold with red sliced through, like bleeding teeth clamped hard.

No barrier to bypass at all, like her mind wanted him here. Expected him to be here. He kept himself at the edges where the battle was despite the pull to go deeper into her mind like his mind wanted to. His mind wanted a bond. She had not and would never consent to it, so it was best to keep temptation as far away as possible. On another day he would bask in the warmth and telepathic welcome he felt and the intimacy of seeing her as she really was. The mind was the heart of a telepath.

He could see the true exterior shell of a TARDIS. Big, like a planet, but growing like coral. Angry red fish swirled in and out of the tubes. Banging on the walls to be let in.

“Everything Ends. Every single atom of existence. I divide them. Everything must come to death. All things. Everything dies. There is no rebirth without the old reality dying. “ a voice older than the stars tugged at Arkytior’s grief. 

No, _not Arkytior. She had to stay with him._ He tried to push away his panic.There was something about the name he should know. What was it? It was right there at the tip of his tongue. It was important so important. Perhaps the most important thing.

“When cruelty reins and death is kinder, death comes as a friend to consume and rebuild.” The Old voice sang.

“Not yet! Not yet!” He recognized Arkytior’s voice fading.

Right. Time to get to work blocking the intruder from consuming her mind.

“Hold on, love.“ She whispered right before his hands were ripped from hers.

*  
Narvin found himself hiding from a green, glowing Ood that actually had a body that could hurt him directly. He was starving. He was quite certain that they had put him in a time dilation field. He felt years drain from him.

He was leaning against a wall that ceased to be solid, and an invisible hand stole across his mouth.

“This is the time you go to the old control room. I'm putting the route in your head.”

He sighed with relief when he realized it was just the mad ship. 

“When we get there, use the purple slider on the nearest panel to lower the shields.”

“Without the shields anything could get in and destroy us! Why would I do that?” He demanded, even as he followed her now visible form that leaned heavily against the narrow passageway walls.

“So they can get inside, silly.” She mocked him.

“You’ve contacted Gallifrey and gotten a ship sent? Good.” Narvin was pleased she had managed to be useful while he had been running for his life.

Idris rolled her eyes. “No, my pilots.”

“They’re back on that planet with no way off. It’s impossible. I’m sorry.” He tried not to piss her off with the truth.

“My wolf eats impossible for breakfast.” Idris scoffed. “But she will not be well. It’s not easy for flesh to use Artron energy. Most just burn up.”

“We can’t get into the main console room. House is there in force.” Narvin argued. The shield controls were in the console room.

They approached a door.

“We’re not going to the current one. We’re going to an old one. House doesn’t know protocol in deleting rooms when lifeforms are still in it.”

He considered that. When rooms were deleted, their occupants got sent to the proper control room to be dealt with if stowaways or protected while the room fixed itself. Good to know this old ship had at least that safety measure.

“Good plan.”

“Here we are,” She tapped the door. “Think of the passcode I told you.”

He would ask why she couldn’t do it, but he wasn’t one for wasting time in a crisis.

“Crimson(the robes of Rassilon) Eleven (Eleven stars) Delight (Leela laughing) Petrichor (The rare rain hitting the dry deserts of his Family House).”

As the doors opened, Idris answered his unvoiced question. “I know my passcodes. I'm just forbidden from using them, lest I actually run my own ship freely and eject unwanted Time Lord pilots.”

“About the only reason you’re still stuck with the Doctor, I suppose.” Narvin said.

“No, I adore my thief. It was an Intruder, who calls himself Master, that damaged me badly for his own childish games against time itself. but no, I am designed in a manner to keep my kind subservient to your kind. Didn’t save all my brothers and sisters on that planet who were designed too weak to escape House. Or those who benefited from that subservience “

He thought it better not to comment on protocol and went straight for the shield controls. Leela had shown him much of the error of his people’s ways that he had not thought to question before.

As soon as he flipped the switch, a giant ball of light blinded him and shoved him across the room.

A pieced together console appeared to one side, the Doctor walking past a red cloaked figure on the ground to glare at him.

“Narvin, go check to see if, if she’s okay. Her shimmer is in her top pocket.” The Doctor was quite demanding when he deserved at least a ‘Thank You for saving my life, Narvin’.

He didn’t like being ordered around especially by someone without the authority to do so. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I promised her I wouldn’t be the one to do it.” The Doctor seemed pained to admit it, teeth gritted as they were, his back purposely to the red cloaked figure of the Founder.

He couldn’t imagine why the Lady Founder would choose to honor him by allowing him to be one of the only Time Lords to see her without her shimmer on. He could understand why anyone wouldn’t trust the Doctor to do it.

“My Thief!” Idris called.

He saw the two embrace as he passed them.

He slid to the Lady Founder’s side and carefully pulled the cloak back to find a breathtakingly beautiful woman with gold hair and pale skin. Very pale. He checked her heart or hearts beat through the weak pulse at her neck. He then put his fingers under nose to find her barely breathing. Not Dead. Good. 

“She’s still alive.” He called back.

He carefully pulled out the legendary relic of the Bracelets of the Other, famed for their craftsmanship. He didn’t think anyone else had ever held them in their hands. A small holo-touch screen appeared that read in Old High Gallifreyan “Put it back on, Moron.”

Well that was rude.

He was doing so when he saw the inscription on the interior side. He recognized Arkiytior, was the name Patrex on that? His curiosity got the better of him. After all, how many Academy students upon hearing of the grand love story of the Other who was mysteriously written out of history not want to know the real name of the male Other who had built the first TARDIS when they had heard so many of the fantastical adventures he had had. 

Eagerly he glanced at the other side for the male Other’s name. Some of it he couldn’t read, and some was the human language English, while overlaid was the modern Gallifreyan word for.... No. He rubbed his eyes. It was the word for ‘Doctor.’

He felt his whole understanding of the universe tilt and try to deny what was in front of him.

“By the Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey and Omega’s jockstrap, NO!” He let loose some additional expletives about spiders from the Void, but he dutifully reattached the solid bangle to her wrists before scooting away.

Some knowledge was better left unknown. Narvin shuddered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to TugBoatG for betaing this!
> 
> For various reasons this took a long time to write. There will be 1 more chapter to finish off Doctor's Wife and leading into the Big Adventure on Asgard which will have River, and the Ponds added in, Asgardian gods from Doctor Who(not Marvel), Bad Wolf, trouble of all kinds and the Doctor finally finding out the truth about River and Rose. Bit like a big season finale but not the end. It's a lot going on so I've got some extra planning to do.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this. Please Comment!


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